Etiology and treatment options of anterior open bite in growing patients: a narrative review

Abstract

Anterior open bite represents a malocclusion that is still under study because of the still lacking evidence about etiology and best treatment options in growing subjects according to success rate and stability. Etiology involves the interaction of environmental factors such as prolonged sucking habits, mouth breathing, tongue or lip thrusting, tongue dimension, eruption disturbances with a genetically determined vertical facial growth pattern. The treatment options for the early treatment of anterior open bite are still controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the actual available evidence on treatments of anterior open bite in the mixed dentition in order to assess the effectiveness of the early treatment in reducing open bite, the most efficacious treatment strategy and the stability of the results.