Your Bite: What’s the Big Deal?

A healthy bite – the way your upper and lower teeth come together – is essential to how you speak, eat, swallow and rest comfortably. The alignment of your teeth, the function of your jaw joints, and the balance of the facial and neck muscles all work together to support your overall health and well-being.

When this balance is disrupted, it can affect more than just the appearance of your smile. What may seem like a few worn or broken teeth, a slightly uneven smile, or minor discomfort could actually be signs that your jaw muscles or joints aren’t working properly.

Malocclusion is when a person’s bite is not coming together the way it is supposed to, from an anatomic and neuromuscular perspective. Malocclusion can lead to all sorts of problems and pain.

Types of Malocclusion:  Different Bites & Their Consequences

• Anterior Open Bite
• Deep Bite
• Cross Bite
• Excessive Over Jet
• Crowded Bite
• Spacing
• Edge to Edge, with Crossbite

Anterior Open Bite:

Only the back teeth (and sometimes only one tooth on either side) touches when you bite. Because the chewing forces are not distributed among all the teeth, the teeth that do make contact get overstressed which means they will wear down, crack and may require root canals and crowns in the future. Periodontal problems including bone loss around those teeth can occur. Can lead to TMD.

Deep Bite:

The upper incisors (front teeth) cover more than half of the lower front teeth. The lower jaw is significantly pushed back, predisposing patients to TMD. You will also see trauma such as mobility of the teeth, excessive bone loss, significant wear or chipping of the lower or upper front teeth.

Cross Bite:

The lower teeth are outside of the upper teeth, which is the opposite of what it should be. You will have an abnormal chewing pattern because the lower jaw will compensate by sliding sideways in order for the teeth to engage for chewing purposes. Definitely predisposes patients to TMD and may cause facial asymmetry. It also will cause lateral stress (torque) on the teeth leading to periodontal problems and potential fracture of the teeth.

Excessive Over Jet:

Upper front teeth are protruded. Little to no contact between upper and lower front teeth. The patient will grind teeth excessively at night which over time will lead to trauma of the front teeth such as chipped, fractured or worn teeth. The lower jaw is pushed back, predisposing a patient to TMD. Due to excessive chewing forces on the back teeth, the patient is likely to wear down or crack the back teeth.

Crowded Bite:

Crowding occurs when the dental arches are not big enough for the teeth (the mouth is too small or, in very rare cases, the teeth are too big). The crooked teeth push on one another as the person chews, causing the crowding to get worse as the patient gets older. Patients have difficulty in cleaning and flossing teeth which leads to periodontal disease and cavities. Gums tend to be very sensitive (inflamed, bleeding, etc.). Patients tend to clench, causing abfractions and gum recession.

Spacing:

Patient has too much space between teeth, causing an unattractive smile and food impaction between teeth. Patients tend to develop periodontal disease. The tongue will take over the excessive space and will continue to spread teeth further apart (flared out). Excessive tooth wear will be evident throughout the patient’s life.

Edge to Edge, with Crossbite:

Upper and lower teeth meet edge to edge, causing significant trauma due to excessive force on the teeth. Patients will often crack their teeth or require root canal treatment. There will be excessive wear and tooth sensitivity. In this picture, the patient also has a crossbite which could lead to TMD.

The Perfect Bite: