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Crossbite
An individual with a crossbite has 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. For example, your upper teeth may sit inside of the lower teeth when the jaw is closed. Crossbites generally become apparent during childhood or early adolescence; they may be inherited, or may result from habits or delayed baby tooth loss. Any of these early developmental situations may result in abnormal eruption of permanent teeth.
Treatment for a crossbite depends upon the severity of the problem and the age of the patient. Children are often easier to treat than adults because their teeth are still developing and their jaws are still growing. Additionally, children are more open to the idea of wearing corrective appliances. Although orthodontics can properly align the teeth (in both children and adults), extreme cases in adults may require surgery to properly align the teeth and jaws.
Crowding
If your teeth are crooked, turned, or overlapped, you are not alone; a large percentage of the population has an orthodontic condition known as crowding. Generally caused by genetics (e.g., a relatively small jaw or relatively large teeth) or by habits such as nail biting and thumb sucking, crowding is often easily fixed with orthodontic treatment.
Braces are typically used to correct crowding problems. In adolescents or adults, braces may be worn for anywhere from 6 months to 3 years, depending on how crowded or misaligned the teeth are. Once the teeth are stable in their alignment, the braces are removed, and removable retainers are generally used to hold the teeth in place.
Spacing
In orthodontics, spacing means exactly what it sounds like: there is too much space between your teeth. Spacing occurs in a relatively small percentage of the population. Like crowding, spacing may be caused by genetic factors. For example, if you inherit a large jaw from your mother, but small-sized teeth from your father, you probably will have too much space in your mouth! Spacing may affect all of your teeth, or just a portion of them. Additionally, chronic thumb sucking as a child can also create or widen spaces between the teeth.
In addition to the obvious cosmetic issues associated with spacing, spaces may affect your ability to bite or chew; in these circumstances, braces may be required. Typically, patients with excess space between their teeth first wear braces and then retainers (to maintain the teeth's new position).
Open Bite
An open bite occurs when your top and bottom front teeth do not make contact with each other when biting down, thus giving the appearance that your mouth is not entirely closed. Treatment is particularly important for moderate to severe open bites, because this condition can affect the joints of the jaw and cause recurring pain.
Open bites may result from a number of circumstances. Thumb sucking and tongue thrusting contribute to the development of an open bite, as do speech problems (such as lisping). In some cases, genetics may be to blame for misalignment between the upper and lower jaws. Your dentist should be able to spot these causes and refer you to an orthodontist for proper treatment.
While an open bite can often be treated with braces, moderate to severe cases may require jaw surgery. These cases are more difficult to handle because both the teeth and the jaw are involved. In addition, they often need braces before, during, and after the surgery to achieve proper alignment.
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