Consequences of malocclusion: what it does for teeth and what to do about it

Correct bite - what is it?

Normal, or physiological occlusion, is characterized by the absence of disturbances in the arrangement of the dentition relative to each other with the jaws fully closed. He can be:

• regular, or orthognathic - in this case, the upper teeth overlap the lower teeth by a third of their height and there are no pronounced gaps between the dentition;
• straight - both jaws clearly close;
• biprognathic - both the upper and lower dentition are slightly tilted forward;
• progenic - only the lower jaw is pushed forward a little, but this does not prevent the cutting edges of the teeth from completely closing.

Correct bite is the absence of pronounced gaps between the teeth when the upper teeth are in contact with the lower ones opposite them. Orthodontists determine a bite without pathologies based on the following characteristics.

1. The upper front teeth overlap the lower ones by 1/3 of their height.
2. The incisors and canines are arranged in an even, arched line without distortions or crevices.
3. The upper teeth protrude slightly outward, the lower teeth “look” slightly inward.
4. All teeth are clearly below each other.
5. The center of the jaws vertically coincides with the midline of the face, there are no protruding parts of the cheekbones or chin.

It is important to remember that in order to form a correct bite, you need to be careful about teething and caring for them.

Removable

The entire period of loss of baby teeth and growth of permanent teeth - from 5-6 years to 11-13 years - the child has a mixed bite. Permanent teeth erupt at certain times and in a certain sequence. If these deadlines are greatly violated in one direction or the other, this can lead to various consequences.

photo: mixed bite in a child

Irregular eruption of permanent teeth

Too early eruption can serve as a symptom of endocrine disorders and even indicate the growth of tumor formations in the jaw.

If, on the contrary, growth is seriously delayed, then such teeth are called impacted - formed, but not grown . This phenomenon can cause not only frequent neurological pain, affect the development and position of neighboring teeth, but also provoke the development of tumors.

Causes of malocclusion

Malocclusion (malocclusion) is due to various reasons: congenital or acquired. An important role is played by genetic factors, as well as insufficient intake of calcium into the mother’s body when carrying a child. Hereditary problems with bite require certain nuances in treatment. Therefore, before carrying out any orthodontic manipulations, the doctor talks with the parents and learns about all the possible factors in the occurrence of pathology.

Acquired malocclusion develops gradually. It appears at different ages due to its own reasons.

In childhood

• Bad habits (finger sucking, pacifiers, chewing on objects).
• Being on artificial feeding.
• Pathological bone formation.
• Teeth grinding (bruxism).
• Lack of sufficient solid food in the child's diet.
• Mouth breathing (formed as a habit or due to respiratory diseases).
• The replacement of baby teeth occurs too sooner or later.
• Pathologies associated with metabolism.
• Calcium and fluoride deficiency.
• Pronounced carious lesion.
• Injuries of the maxillofacial apparatus

In adults

• Installation of unsuitable dentures.
• Diastemas that form as a result of tooth extraction.
• Various types of injuries.
• Lack of space for eights (wisdom teeth).
• Unusual localization of the language.
• Diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Number of teeth

You need to remember whether your permanent teeth were removed and whether your wisdom teeth (eights) erupted.

• The normal number of teeth in a person is from 28 to 32.
• 28 – if not a single eight has erupted and other permanent teeth have not been removed.
• 32 – if all wisdom teeth have erupted and all teeth are preserved.

What if you have fewer than 28 teeth but have never had your permanent teeth removed? This means that either some teeth are impacted (they did not erupt and remained in the jaw in their infancy), or they do not exist at all. This condition is called partial edentia. You can find out where the missing teeth are by getting a diagnosis from an orthodontist. But most likely, if there are problems with teething, then the bite is also disturbed.

Impacted teeth in the picture

Types of malocclusion in adults and children

Dentists usually divide anomalous occlusions into planes.

• Sagittal - characterized by elongated/shortened rows of teeth.
• Transversal - narrowed/expanded dentition is visible.
• Vertical - the presence of shortened/elongated certain areas in the dentition.

In addition, in dental practice it is customary to use the following classification of occlusion.

1. Distal.
   Sagittal occlusion with the upper jaw pushed forward.
2. Mesial.
   Also a sagittal variety, but with the lower jaw moving forward.
3. Cross.
   Transversal pathology with displacement of the jaws, which can only be partially formed, in one direction or another.
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4. Open.
   Vertical occlusion occurs with both partial and complete non-occlusion of teeth.
5. Deep.
   The so-called traumatic, contributing to damage to the enamel. Characteristic is almost maximum overlap of the lower rows with the upper ones.
6. Vertical occlusal anomaly.
   In addition to the above listed occlusion disorders, some experts identify 2 more types of anomalies:

• dystopic bite - displacement of one or more teeth;
• reducing - formed due to damaged and (or) lost teeth.

How to correct a child's malocclusion

• Children under 7 years of age
  are shown a set of gymnastic exercises and massage that will help solve the problem.
• Children under 10 years of age
  are already prescribed trainers, with the help of which they can set the desired direction for their teeth. They must be worn for a certain number of hours during the day. But, if the pathologies are more advanced, removable plates and mouthguards are used. Correction of the anomaly takes approximately 2 years.
• For children aged 10-12
  years, braces are used to correct their bite - special orthodontic structures consisting of a power arch and clasps that set an individual direction for each tooth. They cannot be placed at an earlier age; it is necessary that all milk teeth be replaced by permanent ones. How long to wear braces for malocclusion is determined by the treating orthodontist.

How to correct malocclusion in an adult

A very common treatment method for adults is wearing braces. Transparent aligners (aligners) are also very popular now. They are made of transparent plastic material. Aligners are effective in correcting impaired occlusion, are easy to use and look very aesthetically pleasing. All details about this technique can be found here.

In cases where the patient is not in the mood for long-term bite correction with aligners or braces, there is another solution - microprosthetics. In this case, special overlays are installed on the teeth - veneers, with the help of which you can correct uneven teeth and gaps between them. But if there are serious malocclusions, this technique is not used.

There are bite defects for which only surgical treatment is indicated. Examples include: severe malocclusion, facial asymmetry due to trauma or hereditary causes, and chin dysplasia.

Each method of orthodontic treatment has both indications and contraindications. Only an orthodontist can determine the method of treatment after a thorough examination and full diagnosis.

Pathogenesis

In orthodontics, there are five stages in the formation of the natural anatomical structure of the dentofacial apparatus, and at each of them there is a possibility of the formation of deviations from the norm:

• 0-6 months - manifestation of sucking skill, providing sufficient stimulating load on the tissues.
• From 6 to 36 months. — eruption of milk units that make up the temporary dentition.
• 3-6 years - the preparatory stage, during which the active development of the jaws takes place, necessary for a change in completeness.
• 6-12 years - mixed period, gradual renewal of elements along the entire length of the rows.
• Up to 16 years of age inclusive is the final stage, following which permanent occlusion is formed.

It is worth noting that the formation of anomalies is possible even at the stage of intrauterine stay, being provoked by infectious or chronic diseases, toxic poisoning and other factors affecting the initial characteristics of the rudiments.

Consequences of malocclusion

It is a mistake to think that a pathological bite concerns only appearance and only leads to an unattractive smile. This is where the problems arise that are more serious. For example, in 90% of people with abnormal occlusion, incorrect posture is also detected. There is a logical explanation for this: with a broken bite, the center of gravity of the head shifts. This in turn affects the compensation mechanisms of the musculo-ligamentous apparatus of the maxillofacial system. The result of all this is an increase in the pathology of teeth closure.

Aesthetically, occlusion abnormalities lead to facial asymmetry. A weak-willed chin becomes pronounced, and lips protrude unattractively.

What is the danger of malocclusion?

In addition to visual problems, more serious dysfunctions often occur, including internal organs.

1. Due to increased and uneven load on the teeth, periodontal disease develops and teeth begin to decay.
2. Inadequate chewing of food leads to disruption of the digestive system.
3. The functioning of the temporomandibular joint is impaired.
4. The respiratory system also begins to malfunction.
5. Slow metabolism.
6. Increased risk of developing caries, especially with cross-closing teeth.
7. Problems with pronunciation of sounds.

In addition, with malocclusions, daily dental care becomes much more difficult, which contributes to the constant accumulation of plaque on them.

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Polovkov Dmitry Anatolievich

Orthodontist

In older age

If the violation is not corrected, then its harm will not be leveled out during life. Over the years, incorrect positioning of teeth leads to the fact that due to constant asymmetrically distributed loads during chewing, tooth enamel becomes thinner and the height of crowns decreases. Visually, this gives the smile a more “aged” appearance.

But aesthetics are not the main problem. Teeth are more susceptible to decay, which means that after 40–45 years you will have to get dentures. And then it turns out that when simulating the installation of implants, it is impossible to find the correct installation angle for the pin: due to an incorrect bite, it will bear an increased load and will not be able to take root. Even simple crowns often cannot be installed efficiently. The material of the crowns is durable, however, they wear out and break if the load on them is increased. This means that the doctor cannot guarantee that the crowns will last 10 years or more.

Malocclusion and prosthetics are closely related

Prosthetists often refer their patients to an orthodontist to prepare for prosthetics. Usually after this, prosthetics are successful, but it is worth paying attention to how much the total treatment period will increase - at least by 10-12 months. In addition, if teeth were not replaced on time, bone tissue may suffer over several years of their absence. In older age, with insufficient functional load on the jaw, bone resorption (thinning) occurs. If this process is pronounced, then you need to prepare for implantation using bone grafting. Such preparation seriously increases the overall treatment period.

Malocclusion is a problem that, from a very early age, has a negative impact on human health, provokes other diseases and leads to tooth decay. Therefore, regardless of any connection with aesthetics, the bite needs to be corrected as early as possible. A beautiful smile is an important, but not the main result of correcting the bite. Maintaining health in the long term is much more important.

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What to do to avoid malocclusion.

The consequences of malocclusion can be avoided by taking measures in time, namely in childhood. Here the responsibility falls largely on parents, who can promptly pay attention to problems and carry out prevention. It is important to take into account the risk of congenital disorders, hereditary predisposition, and also eliminate unfavorable factors:

• prevent the development of rickets and other diseases that impair bone growth;
• bottle feed your baby correctly;
• monitor the position of the child’s body during sleep (posture without tension, head not tilted back, etc.);
• maintain correct posture;
• timely wean your child off the pacifier, thumb sucking habit, toys and other objects;
• treat baby teeth immediately, because their early loss (as well as too late) can negatively affect the bite;
• to prevent nasal breathing disorders, namely to treat diseases of the ENT organs and ARVI.

When anomalies in the development of teeth are identified in childhood, timely assistance from an orthodontist will help solve problems faster than in advanced cases in adults. In children, as a rule, there is no need for surgical intervention yet, and even a complex of therapeutic exercises for the facial muscles can significantly help in correcting the bite.

Publisher: Expert magazine about dentistry Startsmile.ru

Tests to determine malocclusion

When diagnosing bite pathologies, specialists use various research methods. There are already developed tables with which you can identify even minimal deviations and prevent its development at an early stage.

Tests for malocclusion are performed both by direct examination and by dental impressions. In the process, measurements are taken in various planes, and attention is paid not only to the dentition as a whole, but to the presence and location of each tooth, as well as their general condition.

Important! Even if there is no visually noticeable bite pathology, it is imperative to visit a specialist and undergo testing. It will help identify the development of anomalies at the initial stage, when deviations are minimal.