According to statistics, only 20% of all patients in dental clinics have an even and regular bite. In others, the closure of the dentition has some disturbances and differs from the physiologically correct one. For some patients, it is very important for dental health to correct abnormalities in their structure. To accurately determine the condition of the bite, you need to visit an orthodontist who will help to advise a person and in which case to prescribe the correct treatment. Before going to the doctor, the patient must independently understand the issue of correct and incorrect bite in order to roughly understand what diagnosis a specialist can make.
Causes of the problem
Each person's teeth have an individual structure. Despite the huge variety, dentitions can be divided into two types:
- irregular or pathological forms;
- regular either physiological form.
A pathological physiological bite is a loose contact between two rows of teeth when they are closed or a complete lack of contact. This condition occurs due to congenital or acquired during life problems with the jaws and dentition.
Pathology of the bite in children and adults can occur for the following reasons:
- due to illness (congenital or acquired);
- with trauma to the jaw (especially with fractures);
- due to chronic diseases that affect the respiratory tract of a person.
Most often, a pathological condition occurs even at a young age, if the child cannot fully breathe through the nose, but breathes through the mouth. It is for this reason that he has to keep his mouth ajar regularly. Soft tissues located in the mouth directly affect the development of the jaw and dentition.
Often, pathology with the closure of the dentition develops even before the birth of a child. In this case, doctors consider the following reasons:
- abnormal pregnancy;
- anemia;
- problems with metabolic processes;
- infection of the child at the time of its development in the womb.
Problems in the newborn
The following factors can affect the bite of a newborn baby:
- problems with dentition;
- birth trauma;
- problems with the child’s diet (insufficient amount of useful components in food and vitamins);
- early onset of artificial feeding;
- late prolapse of primary teeth.
Experts do not advise to use pacifiers at an early age or to give a baby a nipple for a long time. This can adversely affect bite development. A pathology in a child can also be caused by the habit of sucking a finger in a child.
Detailed causes of malocclusion
If an incorrect bite of teeth occurred in a child due to heredity, then the treatment will be slightly different from that which is carried out when the pathology appeared as a result of a bad habit or health problems. Genetic pathologies in most cases are associated with the size of the jaw bones, so it will take a long time to treat the problem.
It is best to use the most effective correction methods for treatment. In some cases, to improve occlusion, the installation of specialized devices for the oral cavity is required: the Herbst apparatus, Bruckl.
Acquired malocclusion forms slowly after the baby is born. Treatment in this case will consist in weaning the child from bad habits, which for the most part cause malocclusion. If you make an appointment with a specialist on time, you can speed up and simplify the treatment of pathology at times.
Common causes of failure:
- habit of gnawing various objects;
- bruxism;
- tremas and diastema;
- respiratory diseases;
- diseases leading to problems with bone growth and development;
- lack of solid foods in the diet.
The wrong bite in adulthood can occur with prosthetics or trauma. Also, a pathological bite can occur after tooth extraction, since in this case the gaps between the teeth adversely affect the functioning of the jaws. If we consider prosthetics, then in this case, the specialist must ensure that the jaw physiological position is not disturbed by accident, as this can lead to their displacement.
In childhood, the correction of a pathological bite can be carried out using various methods, the choice will directly depend on the severity of the pathology. Most often, in adolescence, orthopedic plates, braces and trainers are used. Photos of the wrong bite can be seen below.
Possible complications
With malocclusion, an adult and a child have a risk of serious health problems:
- Digestive disorders. The main reason for this condition is the difficulty in chewing food normally. As a result, a person has to swallow large chunks that are poorly digested in the stomach.
- Problems with appearance. Such a pathology provokes a curvature of the teeth and changes the profile of the face as a whole.
- Dental problems. The load on the teeth will spread unevenly, in certain places of the mouth it will be much stronger. In this case, the risk of periodontal disease is high. The teeth begin to wear out quickly, become too sensitive. In these patients, caries most often occurs.
- Damage to the temporal joints, which provokes constant pain in the head. Soft tissues in the oral cavity can be damaged, which is why ulcers develop in a sore spot.
- Difficulty breathing, as well as problems with pronunciation of words.
To begin an effective treatment of a pathological aftertaste, you should visit the attending specialist who will diagnose and prescribe the appropriate treatment in a particular situation.
The main types of malocclusion
Wrong bite is a fairly common occurrence. But you should not pay attention to this condition. It is important to visit a dentist who will select an effective method for resolving the problem.
Pathological types of occlusion include five violations of a number of teeth. Each of them is different from the other and has its own distinctive features. In practice, doctors often encounter mixed types of malocclusion.
Deep view
Traumatic or deep bite - a condition in which the upper incisors half cover the lower. This condition is considered the most common. It is important to treat it because it can lead to early tooth loss. After all, tooth loss at an early age is an additional stress, discomfort, as well as an aesthetic defect.
Due to a traumatic bite, a person often has the following complications:
- trauma to the mucous membranes of the oral cavity;
- quickly erasing enamel;
- problems with eating;
- excessive load on the front incisors;
- aesthetic defect;
- constant pain in the head, dizziness.
Open form
An open bite is considered the most difficult in its development. In this case, the jaw teeth cannot close at all.
The main symptoms of the lesion:
- The elongated shape of the lower part of the face.
- Problems with the speech apparatus, difficulties in speaking some words.
- Problems with chewing food and swallowing.
- The muscles of the oral cavity are constantly working and loaded.
Doctors distinguish two types of open bite. A traumatic appearance occurs in a person as a result of the loss of all teeth or only a part.
Most often, this phenomenon is observed in people who abuse bad habits, but the disease extends to milk teeth. The second option is true or rickety. It is formed for a long time, it is difficult.
Cross shape
An irregular cross-bite can be described by the uneven development of the upper and lower jaws. In this case, the teeth intersect either in the lateral or in the front of the mouth. The main symptom of this condition is the asymmetry of the face.
The distal bite is characterized by a strong extension of the upper row above the lower. The teeth in this case are strongly set forward and do not come into contact with the lower dentition.
Possible consequences of a distal bite:
- high risk of periodontal disease and caries;
- in the temporomandibular joint, when talking or eating, a strong crunch with pain can appear;
- there are problems with swallowing;
- when visiting a doctor, there is a risk that the disease will not allow some therapeutic procedures.
Mesial bite
Mesial pathological bite is described by a strong protrusion of the lower jaw forward. In this case, the teeth located below, half or completely obscure the upper. In a person with such a pathology, the face is distinguished by a protruding chin.
The main consequences of the pathology are as follows:
- problems with facial symmetry;
- problems with eating, disturbances in speech activity;
- the development of periodontal disease;
- unpleasant pain, clicking and crunching in the joint;
- problems with the treatment at the dentist.
Diagnostic measures
Specialists distinguish several types of diagnosis of occlusion pathology:
- Teletgenography, which helps to determine the strength of the inclination of the teeth, to identify their location in relation to each other. The procedure is carried out in a lateral projection.
- Orthopantomography or the implementation of a panoramic x-ray. In such a picture, the doctor can clearly see the condition of the tooth germ, tooth roots, periodontal.
- Photometry or many pictures of the face and oral cavity. The procedure helps to determine the location of the incisors, as well as identify all problems with the symmetry of the face.
- Projection of the jaw model. This diagnostic method will help to visually study the condition of the bite and identify all problems with the structure of the jaws.
All diagnostic methods will be chosen by the doctor himself. But used when examining and determining the condition of the bite, as a rule, several studies.
Bite correction
Correction of the pathological form of the bite is carried out by an orthodontist. Treatment without fail includes the following items:
- Diagnostic measures. It is important to conduct a comprehensive examination, which can make an accurate diagnosis and choose the right way to correct the violation. To do this, the treating specialist examines the patient’s oral cavity and sends him for CT, orthopantomograms and radiovisiography.
- The symptoms of the disease and the root causes of the problem are eliminated.
- Reconstruction of the oral cavity is carried out (they eliminate caries and other disorders, as well as carry out hygienic brushing of the teeth).
- Next, the bite is adjusted using the selected design.
- Patient recovery, prevention of relapse and preservation of the effect of treatment.
Correction of the bite can be carried out by various methods, in this case, the doctor chooses the type of correction based on the characteristics of the patient's condition.
Most often they use brackets, records, trainers and aligners. For pathological occlusion types, cermet prosthetics is the best option.