Common Orthodontist Issues

Common Orthodontist Issues

It may sound simple, that an orthodontist provides braces, Invisalign and a few more “teeth straightening opportunities”. But the truth of the matter is… orthodontists such as the ones at John Redmond Orthodontics provide more than just a chance to straighten your teeth. Braces are just what orthodontists are known for doing, it’s a common, well-known procedure that should not take away from how life-changing braces can be for somebody.

There’s so many more orthodontic treatments that are necessary. Ones that help you fix malocclusions, or bad bites, to jaw irregularities. You want to lower damage to your teeth and gums? You might see an orthodontist.

Let’s dive into some issues that require orthodontic care, to give you the brightest smile you can have.

Crowded teeth are a common issue in orthodontics, in fact it’s a common issue in America, at least one-third of the American population is upset by crowded teeth in their mouth and seek help for this issue. Crowded teeth are caused by not having enough space in your jaw to accommodate all of your teeth, and cause your teeth to often suffer uneven wear and tear, and even gum problems. Not only this, but when teeth overlap, it is harder to keep them clean.

Spacing, spaces, gaps in the teeth, It has many names and is another common issue when it comes to teeth. There are a lot of causes to spacing issues in the mouth, like genetics, your teeth may have mismatched sizing, you may even have mismatches between the teeth and the jawbone. Perhaps you’re missing teeth, your teeth are too small, or your thumb or finger suck, thrust your tongue, or otherwise mess with your teeth obsessively. When you have issues like this, especially when your front two teeth are affected, it is called diastema, a space between the front teeth. This is caused most often by an oversized labial frenum, and that is the tissue above the top teeth that extend from the upper lip to the gum.

An open bite occurs when the upper and lower teeth do not meet when your mouth is closed. Open bites occur from the jawbones rarely, and typically are from patient behavior like thumb sucking, chewing foreign objects, and tongue thrusting.

A deep bite, or overbite as it is commonly known, happens when the front teeth overlap the lower teeth. This is almost always genetic and hereditary, and is due to the way your jaw develops.

Overjet, often called an overbite, is when the top and bottom teeth have some excessive front-to-back overlap. This is caused by skeletal discrepancy; the upper jaw is further forward physically than the lower. It can be caused by how teeth position in the jawbone, and can also be related to thumb-sucking habits.

Other common issues are underbites, hypodontia, impacted teeth and many more. If something is wrong with your teeth, genetics may be at fault, so don’t be afraid to talk to your orthodontist about it.