Crossbite: What It Is, Types, Causes, and How to Fix It

A crossbite means one or more of your upper teeth sit inside the lower teeth when you bite down, instead of slightly outside where they belong. Think of a healthy bite like a lid resting over a box, the upper arch overlapping the lower one all the way around. In a crossbite, part of that lid has collapsed inward.

In this guide

• What Is a Crossbite?
• What Do Crossbite Teeth Look Like?
• Types of Crossbite
• What Causes a Crossbite?
• What Happens If a Crossbite Is Left Untreated?
• How Orthodontists Diagnose a Crossbite
• How to Fix a Crossbite
• Best Age to Treat a Crossbite
• How Long Does Crossbite Treatment Take?
• How Much Does It Cost to Fix a Crossbite?
• Crossbite FAQs
• Get Your Crossbite Evaluated at Diamond Braces
• The bottom line

What Is a Crossbite?

A crossbite is a type of malocclusion, or bite misalignment, in which one or more upper teeth sit inside the lower teeth when the jaws are closed, instead of slightly outside as they should. It can affect a single tooth, the front teeth, the back teeth, or the entire arch.

In a healthy bite the upper arch is slightly wider and rests just outside the lower one all the way around. A cross bite breaks that pattern sideways, which is what separates it from an overbite or an open bite.

Crossbites are common. A systematic review in children and adolescents put anterior crossbite at about 7.8%, posterior crossbite at about 9.0%, and crossbite with a functional shift of the jaw at about 12.2% (source: Prevalence of Orthodontic Malocclusions in Healthy Children and Adolescents).

Whats a crossbite in practical terms? Not a cosmetic complaint. It is functional: it changes how you chew, can affect certain speech sounds, and in children can influence how the upper jaw develops.

Crossbite vs. Overbite vs. Underbite

Plenty of people search for "underbite" and leave realizing they have an anterior crossbite. The cleanest way to hold the three apart is direction: overbite and underbite are problems of up and down or front to back, a crossbite of inside and outside.

Here is what trips people up. An anterior crossbite involves only one or a few upper front teeth sitting behind their lower neighbors, and the rest of the bite may line up perfectly. With a true underbite the entire lower jaw is positioned forward. See what an overbite is and how an underbite is corrected.

Dental Crossbite vs. Skeletal Crossbite

This is the most important distinction in the article, and almost nobody explains it before treatment planning starts.

A dental crossbite means the jaws are a normal size, but one or more teeth drifted or erupted into the wrong position on top of them. Because the problem is the teeth, the fix moves teeth.

A skeletal crossbite means the upper jaw is too narrow, what orthodontists call transverse maxillary deficiency. Because the problem is bone, the fix has to change bone: a palatal expander in a growing child, and in an adult a surgical step first, since the palate has already fused (source: Surgically-assisted rapid maxillary expansion in an adult patient). An oral surgeon performs that procedure and the orthodontist coordinates treatment around it.

Two people can look at the same tilted tooth and face completely different paths, one eight months of aligners, the other involving a surgeon. The two are not distinguishable by eye, only with X-rays and a scan.

What Do Crossbite Teeth Look Like?

Crossbite teeth look different depending on how many teeth are involved and where they sit. That variation is why plenty of mild crossbites go undiagnosed for years: they show when you bite, not when you smile.

Our guide to crossbite symptoms and causes covers the clinical picture in more detail.

Signs You Can See in the Mirror

Bite down normally in front of a mirror and look for these:

• Your upper and lower front teeth don't line up down the middle.
• One or more upper teeth tilt inward when you bite down.
• Your jaw slides to one side as you close, a mandibular shift, meaning your jaw moves off-center to find a comfortable bite.
• One side of your face looks flatter at the cheek or jaw than the other.
• Some teeth are visibly more worn down than the rest.

Those last two matter. The American Association of Orthodontists notes that an untreated crossbite can cause the jaw to shift to one side, leading over time to lopsided jaw growth and uneven enamel wear (source: AAO). If you're checking a child, look while they're talking, chewing, or smiling. At rest most of this disappears.

Symptoms You Might Feel

Some crossbites announce themselves. Others stay quiet for years, then start to make themselves known:

• Jaw soreness or tightness, especially by the end of the day
• Clicking or popping when you open wide
• Biting your cheek or tongue more often than seems normal
• A slight lisp, or trouble with certain sounds
• Tooth sensitivity where the enamel has worn thin
• Always chewing on one side without thinking about it

Some people also report recurring headaches, though those have other explanations. None of these proves a crossbite alone, but together with what you see in the mirror they're reason enough to get looked at. If jaw pain is your main complaint, read about why your jaw hurts in the morning first.

A 30-Second Crossbite Self-Check

Here's a quick way to check at home:

1. Bite down gently so your back teeth touch.
2. Face a mirror in good light with your lips relaxed apart.
3. Check whether every upper front tooth sits outside its lower neighbor.
4. Repeat the check on the back teeth, one side at a time.
5. Note any upper tooth trapped inside the lower arch, in front or on the sides.

This is not a diagnosis. Only a clinical exam with imaging can tell a dental crossbite from a skeletal one, and that difference decides the entire treatment plan.

Types of Crossbite

Crossbites are classified by where they sit and how many teeth they involve. Six patterns cover nearly everything an orthodontist sees, each with its own typical cause and its own consequence if left alone. For a deeper breakdown, see the six crossbite types orthodontists treat most often.

Anterior Crossbite

One or more upper front teeth bite behind the lower front teeth instead of in front of them. It's the type most often mistaken for an underbite, and the difference is scope: a few teeth, not the whole jaw.

It can be dental or skeletal: sometimes the upper jaw is underdeveloped, sometimes the lower jaw has grown forward, sometimes a couple of teeth simply erupted the wrong way. Left alone it wears the edges of the front teeth faster than normal, can affect certain speech sounds, and teaches the lower jaw to sit in a compensating position.

Posterior Crossbite

The upper molars and premolars bite inside the lower ones. This is the most common type in children, and the usual culprits are a narrow palate, thumb sucking, or prolonged pacifier use.

The Cochrane review puts the prevalence in the primary dentition, meaning baby teeth, at between 1% and 16%, and found that most posterior crossbites, somewhere between 50% and 90%, persist once the permanent teeth come in (source: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews). Waiting rarely helps.

What makes this type worth catching early is the chain reaction. A child learns to slide the jaw sideways to find a comfortable bite, and years of that lets the jaw grow around the habit.

Unilateral Crossbite

Only one side of the mouth is affected. Counterintuitively that's often more concerning than the bilateral version, because it forces the jaw into a functional shift every time the person closes. That daily slide can lead to asymmetric growth, joint strain, and wear concentrated on one side.

Bilateral Crossbite

Both sides are affected, usually because the upper jaw is narrow, the lower jaw is wide, or both.

Here's the nuance: because it's symmetrical it doesn't force an obvious jaw shift, and nothing looks crooked. That's why it tends to be caught later than a unilateral crossbite, and later means the easiest treatment window may have narrowed. This is the textbook case for early palatal expansion.

Single-Tooth Crossbite

One tooth, usually an incisor, erupts or drifts behind its opposite number while everything around it lines up normally.

"Minor" is not "ignorable." That tooth takes concentrated force it wasn't built for, which shows up as localized wear and gum irritation. The upside: it's often the simplest crossbite to correct.

Buccal Crossbite (Scissor Bite)

Buccal crossbite, also called a Brodie bite, is the opposite of the posterior type. The upper back teeth bite completely outside the lower ones, with the chewing surfaces missing each other entirely (source: AAO).

It usually happens when the arches don't grow at the same rate. Because the opposing teeth never meet, chewing on that side is inefficient and the teeth that do make contact take more force than they should.

What Causes a Crossbite?

Crossbite causes fall into two families: what you inherit, meaning the shape and size of the bone, and what develops, meaning habits, breathing, and the way teeth come in. According to the American Association of Orthodontists, crossbites can arise from genetics, delayed loss of baby teeth, abnormal eruption of adult teeth, or prolonged habits like thumb sucking. Most are built by more than one at once, and what decides the outcome isn't which factor started it. It's when someone looks.

Genetics and Jaw Width

Crossbites do cluster in families, but the research is more specific than "you inherit a crossbite."

What is clearly heritable is the architecture. A systematic review of twin studies found a substantial genetic component for dental arch width, length, and shape, while pointing to a lack of genetic determination for posterior crossbite itself (source: Influence of heritability on occlusal traits).

You inherit the terrain, not the condition. If narrow palates or prominent lower jaws run in your family, your child starts with a higher-risk foundation, and what gets built on it depends heavily on the habits and breathing of the first few years.

Thumb Sucking, Pacifiers, and Tongue Thrust

The mechanism is simple: steady, repeated pressure against a bone that's still growing.

Thumb sucking past age four is the pattern most associated with a narrowed upper arch and posterior crossbite, and pacifier use well beyond the toddler years works the same way. Tongue thrust does it more quietly. These are habits, not failures: nearly every young child sucks a thumb, and the great majority stop before it changes anything.

Here's the part most articles leave out: correcting the habit is part of the treatment, not an extra. If the pressure that created the crossbite is still there after the teeth move, they tend to drift back. Myofunctional therapy, exercises that retrain tongue posture and swallowing, is something an orthodontist can coordinate.

Mouth Breathing and Airway Issues

This one is worth understanding as a mechanism rather than a coincidence.

When a child breathes through the mouth, the tongue drops from its resting position against the roof of the mouth to sit low. That resting pressure is one of the forces that normally helps widen the upper jaw during growth. Take it away and the palate develops narrower and higher. Research on mouth breathing and dentofacial development describes exactly this phenotype: a narrow maxillary arch, a high-arched palate, and posterior dental crossbite (source: The impact of mouth breathing on dentofacial development).

The usual causes are enlarged adenoids, large tonsils, allergies, or chronic nasal obstruction. A cross-sectional study of 1,616 children aged three to six found mouth breathing related to anterior open bite, posterior crossbite, and increased overjet (source: Adenoid facies review). If your child snores, sleeps with an open mouth, or always sounds congested, raise it with your pediatrician or an ENT.

Baby Teeth That Fall Out Too Early or Too Late

Two opposite problems, one destination.

If a baby tooth is lost too early the neighbors drift into the gap, so the permanent tooth erupts off-course. If one hangs on too long, it blocks the path that tooth was supposed to take. Research on retained primary teeth links prolonged retention to delayed eruption, crowding, and malocclusions (source: Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry).

Neither announces itself. Both are the kind of thing a routine check-up catches while it's still easy to redirect.

Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Conditions

Cleft lip and palate, along with syndromic conditions such as Crouzon syndrome and Pierre Robin sequence, are frequently accompanied by severe skeletal crossbites.

These cases sit outside standard orthodontic planning. They're managed by a multidisciplinary team, typically a surgeon, an orthodontist, and a speech-language pathologist, which decides the sequencing case by case.

What Happens If a Crossbite Is Left Untreated?

Crossbites don't resolve on their own, and the damage is cumulative and quiet. What follows is what the clinical literature documents. Most of it unfolds over years, which is both the bad news and the reason there's time to plan properly.

Jaw Joint Pain and TMJ Disorder

The plausible mechanism is straightforward: uneven pressure across the jaw joint, plus the compensating movements a shifted bite requires, can translate into chronic strain.

The evidence is genuinely mixed. Some studies find an association between posterior crossbite and TMJ symptoms, including one in adolescents (source: PubMed). The largest study reviewed here, a retrospective analysis of 494 patients, found no association with painful temporomandibular disorder (source: PubMed).

The honest reading: a crossbite may contribute to jaw strain, but it does not reliably cause it, and correcting one is not a treatment for jaw pain. Our guides on what braces can and can't do for TMJ and on TMD symptoms and treatment cover what orthodontics can address.

Uneven Tooth Wear and Enamel Damage

When the bite doesn't line up, chewing force doesn't distribute evenly. Some teeth take more than their share, others barely make contact.

Over years the overloaded teeth show it: premature enamel loss, flattened or chipped cusps, fractures, and dentin hypersensitivity, that sharp reaction to cold once the enamel thins. It's often the first thing a general dentist notices.

Gum Recession and Bone Loss

Teeth that have tipped or rotated to compensate don't sit ideally within the bone and gum tissue supporting them. The consequences accumulate slowly: gum recession, localized bone loss, and periodontal pockets.

There's a downstream angle nobody mentions. Losing that support can complicate restorative work your dentist may need to do later, because crowns and implants both depend on healthy bone underneath them.

Facial Asymmetry

This one is specific to children, and it's the strongest argument for looking early.

When a child shifts the jaw sideways to find a comfortable bite, the jaw can grow around that position. Over years that may show up as a smile that sits off-center, a chin that deviates to one side, or uneven muscle development between the two sides of the face.

There's a biological window. While the facial bones are still growing an orthodontist can guide that growth. Once they mature, toward the end of adolescence, correcting an established asymmetry may require surgery rather than orthodontics alone. That's why the American Association of Orthodontists recommends looking early.

How Orthodontists Diagnose a Crossbite

Diagnosing a crossbite takes three things, and only one is looking in your mouth.

The clinical exam. The orthodontist checks:

• How the arches meet when you bite down, tooth by tooth
• Whether your dental midlines line up
• Whether your jaw shifts sideways as you close, which separates a true crossbite from a functional one
• The jaw joints, for tenderness or clicking, and the wear pattern on your teeth

The imaging. This is what turns observation into a diagnosis:

• A panoramic X-ray shows roots, unerupted teeth, and anything under the gumline
• A cephalometric X-ray measures the relationship between the jaws, which is how skeletal cases get identified
• A cone-beam CT scan is used in cases that may involve surgery
• A 3D intraoral scan builds the model used to plan appliances and aligners

The plan. You should leave knowing which type of crossbite you have, whether it's dental or skeletal, which options apply, how long it would take, and what it would cost. Dental or skeletal isn't visible in a photo, and it determines everything else.

At Diamond Braces the initial evaluation is a free consultation with a licensed orthodontist on site, and it includes a 3D iTero digital scan. X-rays and the scan are included in the treatment price, not billed separately. If you'd rather start from home, you can submit your insurance and snap photos of your teeth for the team to review before your first visit.

Your first visit is a free consultation. You'll leave knowing your options and your price, with no obligation to start.

How to Fix a Crossbite

There is no single crossbite treatment. The right one depends on where the crossbite sits, whether it's dental or skeletal, how severe it is, and how old the patient is, and that decision belongs to an orthodontist holding your imaging. See how orthodontists fix a crossbite and the full range of crossbite treatment options.

Palatal Expanders

How it works. An expander is cemented to the upper molars and activated with a small key, a fraction of a turn at a time, gradually separating the two halves of the palate at the midpalatal suture, the seam running down the roof of the mouth.

Best for. A developing posterior crossbite in children, especially the bilateral kind, while the palate is still growing. It's one of the treatments Diamond Braces uses for exactly this, and it sits on the roof of the mouth, so it isn't visible when a child smiles. Expanders work best between roughly ages 7 and 16, and timing is the whole story: a CBCT study found significant suture closure by around age 15, with 61% of 15-year-old females showing a fused suture (source: Midpalatal Suture Maturation). After that, widening the palate without surgery becomes much harder. Cochrane found moderate-to-high quality evidence supporting expansion appliances over no treatment (source: Cochrane).

What to expect. Pressure for the first few days, a temporary lisp, and often a small gap opening between the two front teeth, which signals the expansion is working and closes on its own. Most patients wear an expander for 6 to 12 months in total, with the active widening phase running 3 to 6 months and the rest spent holding the new width while bone fills in. Our guide to what a palate expander does covers the day-to-day. One documented side effect: expansion has been measured to increase nasal width by about 2.47 mm and nasal volume by about 1.27 cm³ in growing children (source: Effects of Rapid Maxillary Expansion on Upper Airway Volume). That's an effect, not a reason to pursue it. Expanders are quoted at your consultation.

Braces

How it works. Brackets are bonded to the teeth and connected by an archwire that's adjusted over time, applying steady, controlled force in a specific direction.

Best for. Most dental crossbites in teens and adults. Braces offer the most control over complex movements and can be combined with elastics and auxiliary attachments to work on jaw position, which aligners can't do to the same degree.

What to expect. Your orthodontist adjusts the wire periodically as the teeth move. Self-ligating braces skip the elastic ties and generally need fewer visits, and 3D digital planning maps the movement in advance. At Diamond Braces, braces for kids and adults include X-rays, a 3D iTero scan, two removable retainers, and the Lifetime Smile Guarantee.

Invisalign and Clear Aligners

Yes, Invisalign can fix a crossbite, specifically a mild to moderate dental crossbite where the jaws are a normal size, and it works best on anterior or single-tooth cases (source: Invisalign).

How it works. Clear removable trays are made from a digital iTero scan and worn in sequence. For a crossbite the orthodontist adds attachments, small tooth-colored bumps that give the tray something to grip, plus elastics for the extra torque this movement needs.

Best for, and what it can't do. Clear aligners do not correct a skeletal crossbite on their own. If the upper jaw is genuinely too narrow you need an expander or a surgical step. Diamond Braces is a Diamond+ Top 1% Invisalign provider, and that experience is exactly why the answer is "for the right case," not "always."

What to expect. No impression trays, and the first set of aligners is typically ready in two to four weeks.

Reverse-Pull Headgear

How it works. Reverse-pull headgear applies forward traction to the upper jaw using elastics anchored to a lightweight external frame.

Best for. Skeletal anterior crossbites caused by an underdeveloped upper jaw, the pattern orthodontists call a Class III malocclusion. It's typically prescribed between ages six and ten, while the bone still responds.

What to expect. It's worn mostly at home and overnight, and results depend heavily on consistent wear. Used during a growth spurt it may reduce the likelihood of needing jaw surgery later, though that isn't guaranteed. Not every practice offers facemask therapy, so ask whether it's part of the plan you're being offered.

Surgically Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion (SARPE)

How it works. In adults the midpalatal suture has already fused, so mechanical expansion alone won't open it. An oral surgeon releases the areas of resistance in the upper jaw, and expansion follows over roughly two to three weeks (source: SARME in an adult patient).

Best for. Adults with a skeletal crossbite and a genuinely narrow upper jaw. One CBCT study placed the recommended cut-off for moving from conventional expansion to SARPE at about 15.1 years by orthodontists' assessment and 14.8 by maxillofacial surgeons' (source: CBCT study on midpalatal suture maturation).

What to expect. It is surgery, and there's no point dressing that up. There's swelling for the first few days and an active expansion period you'll feel. An orthodontist coordinates treatment on either side; the surgery is performed by an oral surgeon.

Orthognathic Jaw Surgery

This is the least common path, not the expected outcome. If you just noticed a tooth sitting the wrong way, you are almost certainly not headed for an operating room.

How it works. A maxillofacial surgeon repositions one or both jaws. Orthodontics comes before and after, aligning the teeth to the new jaw position.

Best for. Adults with significant skeletal discrepancies, functional limitations such as difficulty chewing, marked facial asymmetry, or cases where orthodontics alone hasn't worked.

What to expect. Primary recovery typically runs six to eight weeks, and total treatment time around the procedure typically falls between 12 and 24 months. Those ranges vary by case.

Can You Fix a Crossbite at Home?

No.

You'll find suggestions online: pushing teeth with your tongue or fingers, elastic "gap bands" sold as DIY braces, mail-order aligners with no in-person supervision. None work on a crossbite, and some cause damage that's expensive or impossible to undo.

The American Association of Orthodontists puts it plainly: moving teeth is a medical procedure and needs personal supervision by an orthodontist. In one case the AAO documented, a patient using DIY methods lost more than 75% of the bone holding a tooth in place, and the AAO reports that 39% of orthodontists who saw patients arriving from DIY attempts had to provide corrective or restorative treatment afterward (source: The Risks of DIY Braces: An Orthodontic Case Study).

Mail-order aligners share the core limitation: designed for simple cases, assessed remotely. A crossbite needs imaging precisely because it might be skeletal, and no photo you take at home tells the two apart. If you've already tried something, the useful next step is having an orthodontist look at what moved.

Best Age to Treat a Crossbite

The ideal window runs from early childhood through early adolescence, while the bone is still growing and responds to guidance. That doesn't rule out adults. It changes the route, not the destination.

Children: Ages 7 to 10

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that every child have a first check-up with an orthodontist by age 7 (source: AAO). That doesn't mean braces at 7. It means a baseline.

The age is specific for a reason. At 7 a child has a mix of baby and permanent teeth, which gives the orthodontist information that isn't available later. The palatal bones haven't fused either, so the upper jaw can still be widened without surgery.

For a crossbite, treating in this window guides bone growth, corrects a transverse deficiency while it's still correctable without surgery, and prevents the jaw shift from settling in. There's an honest financial argument too: earlier treatment tends to mean a less complex case later, and less complexity costs less. It doesn't guarantee your child avoids a second phase, and any orthodontist who promises that is overselling.

Teenagers

Palatal growth slows in the teen years, but appliances still have real influence. Two-phase treatment is common: an orthopedic phase using expansion, then braces or aligners.

Here's the point almost nobody makes. If the crossbite came from mouth breathing, low tongue posture, or a thumb-sucking habit, correcting the root cause matters as much as moving the teeth. Otherwise you get relapse, meaning the teeth drift back. A systematic review on the long-term stability of posterior crossbite correction found stability depends heavily on what's happening around the teeth (source: Orthodontics & Craniofacial Research).

Adults

The bone reality is straightforward: with the suture fused, expansion alone won't resolve a skeletal case in an adult.

But dental crossbites in adults respond well to braces or clear aligners with no surgery, and only skeletal cases require SARPE or orthognathic surgery. Plenty of adults choose tooth-colored ceramic braces or aligners because they don't want treatment to be the first thing people notice.

One observation worth passing on: in adults the decision to treat usually arrives when symptoms do. Jaw soreness, a cracked cusp, a crown that keeps failing on one side. Rarely is it about appearance.

The best age to treat a crossbite is whatever age you are when it's diagnosed, as long as the plan behind it is sound.

How Long Does Crossbite Treatment Take?

Treatment time depends on the appliance, and appliances differ more than most expect:

Typical ranges. Actual treatment time varies by case, and your orthodontist gives you a realistic estimate at your consultation.

Three things move you within those ranges.

Severity. A single tooth in crossbite is a different job from a full-arch skeletal case.

Dental or skeletal. Moving teeth on a normal bone base is faster than changing the bone base itself, which is why the same-looking problem can mean eight months or three years.

Compliance. Aligners only work the hours they're in your mouth, and an expander only widens when it's turned on schedule. This is the variable that most often stretches an estimate, and it's entirely in the patient's hands. Once treatment ends, retainers hold the result.

How Much Does It Cost to Fix a Crossbite?

Crossbite treatment at Diamond Braces is priced by how long treatment takes, not by which brackets you choose.

Published Diamond Braces prices; exclusions and restrictions may apply. What you actually pay depends on your insurance and financing, covered below.

Every band includes X-rays, a 3D iTero digital scan, two removable retainers, treatment by a licensed orthodontist on site, and the Lifetime Smile Guarantee, all line items other practices often bill separately.

Which band you land in follows the diagnosis. A single-tooth or mild anterior crossbite frequently finishes inside a year; a skeletal case that needs expansion first runs the full course. For context, metal braces run roughly $3,000 to $7,000 in the wider market, and full braces and Invisalign pricing is published rather than quoted case by case.

How you pay is a separate question from what it costs. Diamond Braces offers $0 down with financing, and treatment can start as low as $89/month with insurance. Through CareCredit financing, monthly payments typically fall between $89 and $300 depending on the total, the term, and the plan, with no interest if the balance is paid within the promotional period.

One honest gap: palatal expanders, reverse-pull headgear, SARPE, and orthognathic surgery have no published price, because they vary too much by case. Those are quoted at your consultation.

Does Insurance Cover Crossbite Treatment?

Here's where a crossbite has an advantage over purely cosmetic treatment. It's classified as a functional malocclusion, meaning it affects how the mouth works, and that often improves the odds of coverage. It doesn't guarantee it, and coverage always depends on your plan.

Most dental plans handle orthodontics through a lifetime maximum, typically between $1,000 and $3,000. Lifetime, not annual, which surprises people. Coverage for minors is usually broader than for adults, some plans require an orthodontic rider, and coordinating two household plans can reduce out-of-pocket cost.

For Medicaid: it covers braces for children and teens when treatment is deemed medically necessary, rarely covers Invisalign, and generally doesn't cover adults. Retainers are usually included with covered treatment. Diamond Braces accepts hundreds of insurance plans including Medicaid, across offices that accept Medicaid throughout the network.

You don't have to work this out yourself. Diamond's Smile Concierge team verifies your dental insurance for braces or your Medicaid plan, coordinates benefits, and handles the claims and billing paperwork, so you know your real out-of-pocket before you commit.

Crossbite FAQs

Get Your Crossbite Evaluated at Diamond Braces

Your first visit is a free consultation with no obligation. You'll leave knowing which type of crossbite you have and what correcting it would cost, without having signed anything.

Three things worth knowing. Every treatment at Diamond Braces is performed by a licensed orthodontist, not a general dentist, because orthodontics is all we do. The evaluation includes a digital scan and a treatment plan with costs, given to you before you commit. And with 65+ locations across NY, NJ, PA, and CT, there's usually an office nearby. Find your closest among our offices across NY, NJ, PA and CT.

The bottom line

A crossbite isn't a cosmetic issue and it won't sort itself out, but it is one of the more consistently correctable bite problems in orthodontics. What decides your path isn't how bad it looks. It's whether the problem is the position of your teeth or the width of your jaw, and that single question changes everything downstream: which appliance, how long, how much.

That question has an answer, and getting it takes one exam with imaging. From there you have a plan and a number instead of a worry, and you'll know what your insurance actually covers before you commit to anything.

More than braces, we build confidence.