Misaligned teeth also referred to as malocclusion is the crooked lining of the teeth. In most cases, this condition has a number of effects such as how one smiles, the shape of the face and chewing problems.
Causes
This condition is commonly inherited but it has a number of other causes such as thumb sucking, prolonged use of bottle feeding during childhood, breathing through the mouth, poor dental care such as improper fitting of dental fillings, early loss of milk teeth, accidents/injuries that lead to misalignment of the jaw, gingivitis/gum disease is also a cause as well as tumors in the mouth. These are some of the causes and some of them can be avoided.
This should be treated since it has a number of effects on the physical and psychological wellbeing. It can lead to a lowering of the self-esteem of the victim since they cannot interact openly with people due to smiling problems as well as their speech. It can cause chewing and eating problems. It can also cause serious oral health effects such as gingivitis since misaligned teeth are difficult to brush and floss increasing the risk of bacterial infections.
Diagnosis and Treatment
You can be diagnosed with three classes of misaligned teeth;
- Class one is where the upper teeth overlap the lower one
- Class two where the upper jaw and teeth significantly overlap the lower ones
- Class three where the lower jaw and teeth overlap the upper ones
When diagnosed you can be treated through the use of braces such as lingual braces, invisible aligners, and fixed braces to reposition the teeth, removal of teeth deal with the case of overcrowding, surgery of the jaw to reshape it, capping and bonding of the teeth. However, these treatments have some effects such as pain and irritation in the mouth.
