Orthodontists are specialists in dental care who deal with teeth alignment and bites. It’s their responsibility to guarantee that you maintain a beautiful smile by ensuring that the jaw structure complements facial development. So, what conditions can be addressed through orthodontic treatment?
Malocclusion
This medical term refers to a condition, mostly hereditary, that causes a mismatch and misalignment of the teeth. A patient suffering from this experiences discomfort and, if unchecked, this condition leads to the alteration of the face.
Here are the different types of malocclusion.
1. Overbite/Retrognathism
Also referred to as a class III malocclusion, the problem emerges when the upper jaw protrudes more than the lower jaw. Symptoms include:
• Uncontrolled biting of the tongue or inner cheeks
• Difficulty in breathing – the patient uses the mouth for breathing instead of the nose
• Distorted facial appearance
• Speech impediments
Some of the causes are:
• Thumb-sucking in early childhood stages (this can be avoided by using a thumb-sucking guard or other fixed gadgets)
• Jaw deformity
• Poor eating habits
Patients with this condition are likely to have issues such as raptured inner mouth tissues and fractured teeth.
2. Underbite/Prognathism
This is the opposite of overbite. Here, the patient has the lower jaw protruding more than the upper one.
3. Crossbite
This type of misalignment can occur either on the front teeth, back teeth or both. The condition can spoil that beautiful smile on your face. To rectify this, orthodontic treatment can be used.
4. Spacing
Some patients have gaps or spaces on their jaws either due to missing teeth or having small teeth.
5. Crowding
At times, patients have more teeth on the dental ridges, which reduces teeth spacing.
It’s advisable that parents take their kids to orthodontists sooner rather than later. This is because it’s easy to monitor teeth alignment at an early age. As for adults of almost any age, orthodontic treatment at our office is an opportunity to boost self-esteem by bringing back that radiant smile.
For more information, contact us today at Ragan Orthodontics and book an appointment with our orthodontist at one of our offices in Dallas, TX.
