Some things just go together. Peanut butter and jelly, mac and cheese, and, of course, your teeth! The way your teeth fit together when your jaw is closed is referred to as dental occlusion. Dental occlusion is basically the relationship between your upper and lower teeth when you bite down or close your mouth. Dental occlusion is important for proper chewing, speaking and overall dental health.
The term dental occlusion encompasses a variety of factors, including how your teeth are aligned, your bite pattern, and even the relationship between your upper and lower jaw. A good dental occlusion ensures that your teeth come together evenly and function properly. This minimizes strain on your jaw muscles and prevents issues such as uneven wear on your teeth, jaw pain, and even temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ dysfunction).
Many factors can affect dental occlusion. These include tooth alignment, missing teeth, dental restorations such as fillings or crowns, and jaw abnormalities.
Unfortunately, not all of us are born with good dental occlusion. Bad dental occlusion is what is known as “malocclusion.” While some outside factors can affect the alignment of our teeth, such as missing teeth or behaviors such as thumb sucking, for the most part how your teeth grow in your jaw is out of your control. This is why we have orthodontics: to correct your dental occlusion and give you a better bite.
There are several types of bite patterns, including overbite, underbite, crossbite, deep bite and overjet. These bite patterns can all be problematic in their own ways. They can cause jaw pain, speech impediments and uneven tooth wear, and in some cases, you might feel like your bite just isn’t aesthetically pleasing.
Thankfully, Breathe Modern Dentistry offers orthodontic treatment for our patients looking to correct a bad bite and improve their dental occlusion. We offer both controlled arch orthodontics as well as refined orthodontics.
Controlled arch orthodontics are different from the traditional wire-and-bracket braces you’re probably most familiar with. Also known as arch orthodontics, controlled arch orthodontics take into consideration your physiologic development and facial characteristics when planning for the proper and healthy position of your teeth.
Controlled arch braces work by first addressing space issues in your mouth as well as any problems with your jaw. This ensures that your teeth will have plenty of room so that the controlled arch braces can move your teeth.
By using controlled arch braces, we can ensure that your smile not only looks aesthetically pleasing, but that it is also built on a healthy, solid foundation that will protect your overall health for the long term. No more jaw pain, no more uneven wear, and a lower risk of common oral health problems like cavities (dental caries), gum disease and more.
Refined orthodontics, on the other hand, are best for those who only need a few teeth straightened, not a full mouth realignment. Refined orthodontics are clear aligners. You may have heard of a few famous brands of clear aligners, such as Invisalign, but at Breathe Modern Dentistry, we have our own solution that can save you both time and money.
With the proliferation of online dentistry, the options for refined orthodontics seem endless, but if you do your research, you will see that, with online, or “by mail,” orthodontics, you get what you pay for. Often you are not under the supervision of a dentist or orthodontist, which can be very dangerous if your aligners are off even by a tiny bit. This can not only change the final result of your orthodontic treatment, but it can also put you at risk for everything from gum disease to tooth loss, not to mention wasted money on an ineffective treatment. In fact, some people have actually made their bite worse by using improper aligners!
At Breathe Modern Dentistry, we prefer using Refined clear aligners for easy to moderate cases. Furthermore, with the addition of software and 3D printing, we can skip the middleman, the lab fees, and the time delays, and design and fabricate your aligners right here in the office! This means you can get started on your orthodontic treatment within a week, not a month. Plus, you get the benefit of a local practitioner, so if there’s an issue, we can resolve it within days and get your treatment back on track!
If you’re at all concerned about your dental occlusion, we’re here to help. Whether it’s making adjustments with orthodontics or simply monitoring the growth of your child’s jaw and the placement of their adult teeth to ensure that they have a healthy occlusion, Breathe Modern Dentistry has the solution. To learn more, please schedule a consultation with us today!