Common Bite Concerns

For adults, you may wish to adjust imperfections in your dental alignment to improve appearance, self esteem, and attain optimal oral function. Orthodontics can still work for correcting your adult smile!

There are many bite concerns that can be addressed through orthodontics. Here are some of the most common:

Upper Front Teeth Protrusion

In this type of bite issue, the top front teeth extend far past the lower teeth. This makes it difficult to bite down adequately. This issue can impact the shape of your mouth as the top teeth often jut forward at an angle. This can be caused by genetics and, in some cases, by different habits such as finger or thumb sucking in childhood.

Overbite or “Deep Bite”

With an overbite, the top teeth excessively overlap over the lower teeth. In many cases, the top teeth actually sit directly in front of the lower when the jaw is fully closed, rather than above them. Over the long term this causes premature tooth wear.

Crossbite

A crossbite often occurs when the upper teeth sit inside the bottom teeth, though misalignments at different points in the mouth are also referred to as crossbites. For example, back teeth may not meet correctly or front teeth may bite together incorrectly. This can cause serious oral health issues, including wear on the teeth and improper jaw growth if left untreated.

Open Bite

In a natural alignment, the top teeth will slightly overlap the bottom. In an open bite, the upper and lower front teeth do not overlap and there may be an opening between the top and bottom teeth at the front of the mouth. Habits with the tongue and fingers can contribute to an open bite, as can the direction and amount of lower jaw growth (genetics).

Crowding

Crowding is an issue where there isn't adequate room in the jaw for all of your teeth to be lined up properly. For instance, many people have their wisdom teeth removed because there isn't enough room in the jaw for those teeth. Crowding can be corrected through a process known as expansion or, in some cases, teeth may be extracted to help correct the issue.

Spacing

Extra space may exist in your mouth due to teeth being extracted in the past, perhaps due to an accident, or the natural existence of extra room in the jaw compared the amount of space your teeth require. Spacing may be viewed as more of a cosmetic issue than functional issue, depending on your situation.

Dental Midlines Not Matching

This bite concern is evident when the centre lines of the top and bottom teeth don’t line up. This often represents the back teeth not lining up properly. In this case, there may be issues in chewing efficiency, but more often it can result in tooth wear or gum damage.

Our staff is dedicated to the optimal care of your smile. You can rely on a thorough evaluation from our team to ensure your individual issues will be treated properly, alleviating worry and creating a beautiful, healthy, corrected smile!