About Overbite

A condition when the upper teeth bite over the lower teeth is called overbite. Sometimes overbite is also called protrusive-bite. By appearance, patients with Overbites are "bucktoothed" and have a receding chin. The lower front teeth are positioned too far behind the upper front teeth. This condition can result from a horizontal overdevelopment of the upper jaw or an underdevelopment of the lower jaw or a combination of both. In its advanced posture or severe orthodontic case the lower teeth are completely covered and can't be seen when the patient is biting. This is also called a deep bite. It is common for a person with a small underdeveloped lower jaw to have a deep bite. This type of malocclusion is called Class 2 or retrognathism.

There are several problems associated with an overbite. From the cosmetic dentistry angle, it presents a gummy smile. The protrusion creates a large upper lip, biting on the lower lip, excessive wearing of the front teeth, periodontal disease from biting of the gums on the roof of the mouth behind the upper teeth, inability to properly bite with the front teeth, and an ugly smile. There is a functional problem with swallowing, chewing, and sometimes speech. Frequently these patients have jaw joint (TMJ) popping, will complain of frequent headaches, and display stomach distress due to inability to chew properly. These patients often develop TMJ problems because the upper front teeth force the lower jaw backwards into the ears when biting. It can be corrected with dental braces.

Overbite Treatment:
Orthodontic Class II cases with an overbite are quite common. The anterior tooth overlapping correction by orthodontic treatment restores healthy gums and also creates much more attractive, beautiful smile by design in India. To move the upper teeth backwards, the upper molars have to be pushed backwards in many cases beforehand to make room for the move. Some Overbites can be treated by tooth extraction only when the upper and lower jaw are normally sized and positioned. Besides, today we have other intraoral methods as well. The usual course of orthodontic treatment will consist of full braces starting before the time the last baby teeth are lost or more or less around that age. The approx length of treatment could be 18 to 24 months in braces. But from children dentistry angle, the treatment in severe cases is advised to be divided into two phases of suitable age range.

About Openbite
The openbite explains a situation when the upper front teeth can not meet or overlap the lower front teeth even though the back teeth are seen to have closed together properly as in a normal bite. These patients usually are mouth breathers, sucked their thumbs and are tongue thrusters. There is little or no ability to "bite" using the front teeth. More than the biting problem, this condition makes eating rather a difficult experience. There is difficulty with swallowing, speech, and red swollen gums due to chronic air exposure. It's hard to eat or bite into a sandwich or slice of pizza when your front teeth don't meet! Open bites are caused by the overdevelopment of the back portion of the upper jaw in a vertical direction. As the back portion of the upper jaw grows vertically downward, the lower jaw will open in a clockwise direction. This explains why open bite patients have a long facial appearance.

Openbite Treatment:
Each individual presents a unique case according to which various methods of orthodontic treatments can be applied by your orthodontist. Anterior open bite is one of the most difficult malocclusions to treat orthodontically. Currently, surgical impaction of the maxillary posterior segment is considered to be the most effective treatment option in adult patients. But zygomatic buttress area could be a valuable anchorage site to achieve intrusion of maxillary posterior teeth, fixing titanium miniplates there and a force applied bilaterally with Ni-Ti coil springs between the vertical extension of the miniplate and the first molar buccal tube. As compared with an osteotomy, this minimally invasive surgical procedure eases the treatment and reduces treatment time and does not require headgear wear or anterior box elastics for anterior open bite correction. Lateral cephalograms and posteroanterior radiographs can be taken before and after the treatment to assess the dental, skeletal, and soft tissue changes.

About Underbite
The patients with their chins jutting straight out, it gives an appearance of having strong jaws. Patients with Underbite have lower front teeth are positioned before the upper front teeth. The lower jaw appears to be excessively large. The patient in this case may have a sunken in face. This condition is caused by the upper jaw being horizontally under-developed, and the horizontal overdevelopment of the lower jaw, or most frequently a combination of both. There are varying degrees in the amount of abnormal growth which can occur in the lower jaw. Underbite caused by an underdeveloped upper jaw; underbite caused by an overdeveloped upper jaw; underbite caused by a combination of underdeveloped upper jaw and an overdeveloped lower jaw.

When lower jaw grows out too far in front of the upper jaw, this is called mandible prognathism. The other condition commonly seen in under bite patients is when the maxilla or top jaw has not properly developed. This condition is called maxillary mid-face deficiency. In almost all cases, an underbite is caused by nasal obstruction, mouth breathing and a tongue thrust. The underbite is a skeletal problem, and termed Class III Div I malocclusion. This problem can often be corrected without surgery if treatment is started before puberty or the patient stops growing, as the case may be. The orthodontist can use appliances to correct these problems as long as the problem is diagnosed early enough. If left untreated, the problem may worsen and may require orthognathic (jaw) surgery to help achieve a more harmonious facial profile.

Underbite Treatment:
In many cases underbite can be corrected through growth modification of the jaws, extraction of teeth and in most cases, surgical correction of the jaws at the appropriate age. It may be noted that non surgical orthodontic attempts at treating skeletal underbite can result in the chin's already prominent appearance being further accentuated by the orthodontic retraction of the lower front teeth. In a situation when jaw surgery is performed to realign the upper and lower jaws without correcting the tongue thrust and related allergies, there will probably be some relapse.

About Crossbite
A Crossbite is a condition when the width of the upper jaw is too narrow to fit/sit properly against the lower jaw. An individual with an Anterior Crossbite or Posterior Crossbite will have teeth that are out of place when the mouth is closed. In most instances, this means that one set of your teeth will either fall inside or outside of the opposing set. In most cases it is evident that cross bites involve bone and often require treatment beyond normal braces. Many of the causes of crossbite are apparent in childhood or early adulthood. Two of the biggest causes of crossbite are heredity and delayed loss of baby teeth. Both of these situations could cause the teeth to be out of the proper position. Misaligned teeth can cause premature wear (attrition) leading to tooth decay, root canals needing dental crowns, and muscular TMJ problems.

Crossbite Treatment:
The factors like age and severity of the crossbite problem determine the direction of the treatment. The tender years are the right time to achieve desirable results, as the bones have not yet hardened. In addition, children are more accepting of the idea of wearing dental braces. Orthodontics, however, are used to properly align the teeth of both children and adults. In extreme cases, surgery may be required to align the jaws, lest TMJ disorders develop over time. Your orthodontist should be able to formulate a treatment plan based on your individual concerns and desires.

About Crowding
The commonly known as crooked teeth, is a situation when the permanent teeth are large and the jaw is too small to accommodate all the teeth. Removal of permanent teeth may become necessary to make room for correct alignment, but every effort is made to avoid extractions. If treatment is started too late, and the teeth have crowded, removal of permanent teeth may become necessary to make room for correct alignment. Click here for more details…

About Spacing (Diastema)
In orthodontic term, spacing means exactly what it sounds: too much space between your teeth. This condition is the exact opposite of crowding, and is known clinically as "diastema." Like crowding, spacing may be caused by genetic factors. Spacing between your teeth can be the result of: congenitally missing or extracted teeth; impacted teeth; a size difference between the upper and lower teeth; frequently repeated habits such as finger or lip sucking, or tongue thrusting; or your teeth being too small for the respective jaw. Spaces between your teeth may cause food impaction resulting in damage to the surrounding gums and bone.

Spacing Treatment:
The diastema (gap) closure treatment may not be medically necessary. The prime consideration for many people choose to recreate their smile is aimed at cosmetic dentistry. The most popular (and least-invasive) type of treatment for bigger spacing is braces. Depending on the individual needs your orthodontist or cosmetic dentist may apply smile designing techniques to help you decide whether veneers, bonding or braces is right for you. He can tailor treatment to fit your lifestyle, age, and desired duration of treatment.