What strategies are used to address a deep bite during finishing?

• A. Intrude the maxillary and/or mandibular anterior teeth with intrusion mechanics, while balancing posterior eruption and occlusion; consider vertical control.
• B. Extrude anterior teeth only.
• C. Use headgear to distalize molars.
• D. Increase overbite with bite ramps.

Answer: (A)

Deep bite finishing is best achieved by reducing the vertical dimension in the front teeth while letting the back teeth settle into stable occlusion. Intruding the maxillary and/or mandibular anterior teeth with appropriate intrusion mechanics directly lowers the overbite, and when this is paired with allowing or guiding posterior eruption to maintain or establish proper molar contacts, the bite becomes more balanced and functional. Controlling vertical direction is key to avoid creating new issues, such as an open bite or unstable occlusion, during this adjustment. This approach focuses on the incisal area to correct excessive overlap, rather than trying to move molars backward or simply push the bite deeper with the posterior mechanics. Extruding the front teeth would worsen the deep bite, distalizing molars with headgear doesn’t address the anterior vertical discrepancy in finishing, and increasing overbite with bite ramps would also be inappropriate.