It’s not unusual to encounter people who think orthodontics is meant to straighten your smile, and that’s it. People think orthodontics only makes you look good, but that is not true. Orthodontics is as necessary and essential for your health as dentistry or health care.

Problems with the alignment of your denture affect aspects of your life other than how you look. Severe malocclusions cause pain and trouble with your mandibles bones.

On the other hand, issues like crooked teeth or crowded teeth can cause gum infections, bad breath, inflammation, bleeding, and tooth decay. These problems could translate into severe oral and overall health complications.

If you neglect your dental health, be sure you will develop problems in your eating habits, your digestion process, your social life, and your self-esteem.

What Is a Malocclusion?

Malocclusion is the technical name for misalignment issues with your teeth. There are types of malocclusion to describe the different cases, causes, and risks. Underbites and overbites are two you have probably heard before because they are so common.

There are others like crowding, overcrowding, and crossbites. They all have in common the fact they hinder essential functions you should be able to perform with your mouth, like eating (biting and chewing) and even speaking properly.

To put it n a few words – Malocclusions are dental issues you should fix for your oral health.

What Are the Different Types of Malocclusions?

Orthodontists classify dental malocclusions into 3 big categories that are subdivided into different types according to the positioning of teeth. Here’s a list of the first three classes of malocclusions.

All of them can be treated in the same way – by regularly visiting your orthodontist’s office and especially during the years when children’s dentures are being formed.

What Is a Class 1 Malocclusion?

In class 1 of malocclusions, we have the most common and mild ones. Around half of the kids have this type of teeth misalignment.

The key factor in diagnosing a type of class one malocclusion is that there is overlapping of the front upper teeth over the front lower teeth. This can mean problems like overbite, spacing issues (diastema or overcrowding), and crossbite.

What Are Class 2 Malocclusions?

Class II malocclusions are very common. In this class of malocclusion, the maxillar and mandible are not aligned as they should be. Among these types of teeth misalignment, we also find severe overbites and crossbites. Class 2 malocclusions should be diagnosed and detected early to correct or diminish biting problems.

Class 3 Malocclusion

Class III malocclusion is where we have underbite problems. In most cases, the lower teeth will come out over the front upper teeth. This type of dental issue interferes with speaking functions and can also manifest through crossbite.

What Are Common Orthodontic Conditions?

Malocclusion sounds super technical, and we want to talk about the oral issues they suppose in a way we can all understand. As an orthodontic patient, your biggest concern is how these dental problems impact oral health and why aligned teeth perform better.

Crossbite

Crossbites can be a consequence of malocclusion problems. When a doctor diagnoses a crossbite, it means one or more teeth are colliding with the upper or lower teeth, making it impossible to sit in the right place. This occurs more often with back or lateral teeth than with front teeth.

Crowded Bite

By reading the name, you can probably imagine what issue we are talking about. Crowding and overcrowding are alignment problems a lot of people have seen. It can happen due to a lack of space. The thing is that when a patient has a crowded bite, they can also develop tooth decay and mandible pain.

Overbites and Underbites

These two are treated by orthodontists almost daily since the number of dental patients facing this issue is significant. Overbites and underbites can modify the facial appearance and interfere with chewing functions. They can cause severe pain that can be corrected with orthodontic treatment.

Open Bite

This is the common name for malocclusion problems where the lower front and upper front teeth do not touch as normally, leaving a gap. Open bite affects orthodontic patients in their speaking and chewing.

How Orthodontics Help With Crooked Teeth

It’s a fact that your oral health interacts directly with your overall health. You need a healthy mouth with healthy teeth, gums, and palate to live a happy life of comfort.

As a medical treatment, orthodontics offers a huge difference compared to other healthcare disciplines. What is it? The fact that orthodontic treatment use force and mechanic process instead of chemical treatment with pills or injections.

You will only need special medication in cases where your orthodontist has to practice an extraction or over-the-counter painkillers if your aligners hurt a little too much eventually.

Find Your Orthodontist in Keizer City, Oregon

It’s very important for you and your family to have a dental practice near you in Oregon. You can count on our team of orthodontists in Keizer city. Set an appointment for you and your younger ones to make sure any alignment issue or malocclusion is taken care of.