Do you need braces?

Review the common problems below. Do any of these sound familiar? Contact our office to see how our orthodontic treatment can help!

Underbite

An underbite causes your upper-front teeth to fall behind your lower-front teeth, making your lower jaw extend outward. This can cause pain in your jaw, speech impediments, and changes to your mouth structure.

Overbite

An overbite has the opposite effect of an underbite. The upper-front teeth extend outward, causing them to fall over your lower-front teeth. This may make you accidentally bite into the roof of your mouth and could affect the way you speak.

Openbite

If you have an openbite, or teeth that don’t overlap, you may find it difficult to close your mouth. Openbites affect the way you bite, chew, and swallow. You might also have a speech impediment or have trouble closing your lips around your teeth.

Crossbite

A crossbite forces your upper teeth to sit inside the lower teeth, growing closer to the cheek or the tongue. Without the right treatment, crossbites cause pressure on the jaw joint, head and cheek pain, a clicking or popping when your mouth opens and closes, and temporo-mandibular joint disorder (TMJ).

Spacing …gaps in between teeth?

Gaps in between your teeth may come from missing teeth or simple cosmetic issues. If you have wide spaces, you may have speech problems or feel self-conscious about your smile.

Crowding

If your teeth are extremely close together, new teeth may have trouble erupting from the gums and cleaning every area of the tooth can be difficult. Added food and plaque can lead to gum disease.

Mismatched midlines

Do you have a back bite that doesn’t quite fit? Mismatched dental midlines can interfere with proper jaw function.