How Malocclusion Can Affect the Teeth

Occlusion is basically the point where your upper and lower teeth come into contact when you chew or close your mouth/jaw. If your teeth are misaligned, malocclusion generally occurs, which means that there is an incorrect relation between the teeth pertaining to your upper and lower dental arches.

Malocclusion can bring about many oral health conditions such as damage to the teeth, to the ligaments in your jaw and bones, and even to the muscles which play an extremely important role in holding the teeth in the correct position.

There are quite a few signs and symptoms associated with malocclusion (misalignment of the teeth). For example, the patient might experience teeth wear with the passing of time, and even tooth loss or tooth breakage may occur.

Then, people with malocclusion experience quite some severe headaches, and this happens mainly because the occlusion pressure is exerted in an improper manner. Jaw joint pain and teeth sensitivity are a few more complications that might occur as a result of malocclusion.

Dental hygienists differentiate between three types of malocclusion: Type I, type II, and type III. In type I malocclusion, the incisor teeth do not come in contact properly when closing the mouth.

The Type II malocclusion happens when the lower anterior incisors are situated significantly behind the upper anterior incisors. This type of malocclusion is also called an “overbite”, and patients struggling with such misalignment of teeth will exert quite a lot of discomfort when biting or chewing food.

It is extremely important to get professional dental treatment for this type of malocclusion, because with time the teeth will wear and this can lead to severe bone damage or even teeth loss.

Type III malocclusion is when the lower set of incisors is basically set edge to edge with the upper set of the incisors. This type of malocclusion is also known as a “cross bite”, and patients need to get proper dental treatment, otherwise severe damages to the teeth can occur.

Today, there are several dental cosmetic treatments available that can treat effectively all types of malocclusion. After a checkup with the dentist, he will decide upon the most suitable type of treatment.