Orthodontic treatment is a form of professional dentistry that focuses on how well your teeth fit together, and improving their balance if they’re crooked. Known as malocclusion, crooked teeth can take many forms affect patients of all ages, and when not treated, the condition can lead to a host of subsequent dental issues resulting from an imbalanced bite. By straightening teeth with the right orthodontic treatment, your Gary, IN dentist, Dr. Nicholas Cain, can restore your bite’s cosmetic appearance as well as its function.

Learning About Malocclusion

Ideally, teeth should erupt vertically (straight up and down) from your jawbone and gum line. Any variation of this path, and a tooth won’t meet its opposite comfortably, complicating your mouth’s ability to distribute pressure. Some of the more common forms of malocclusion include;

• Overbite—the upper front teeth reach further in front of your lower teeth than they should. In a straight bite, the upper front teeth should extend slightly in front of their lower counterparts, but if they reach too far, than they’re considered misaligned.
• Underbite—the opposite of an underbite; when lower front teeth extend in front of your upper front teeth. Since your lower teeth should naturally rest behind those on top, an underbite is often more noticeable than an overbite.
• Crossbite—can affect one, several, or all of your teeth. A crossbite describes when one or more teeth are angled diagonally, toward the tongue or cheek, rather than vertically.
• Crowding/spacing problems—too little or too much room between your teeth. Aside from crooked growth, teeth can also erupt with an improper amount of space between them. Too much space can lead to tooth mobility (loose teeth), and crowding can prevent still-growing teeth from erupting properly or at all (impaction).

Patience is a Virtue…And a Necessity

The idea of orthodontics is to move teeth into a more desirable position, and to accomplish this, time is of the essence—specifically, taking enough time for the bone and ligaments supporting your teeth to reform around your teeth’s roots as they move. Orthodontic braces are designed to slowly and methodically force teeth toward their goals, allowing their supportive structures to shift with them.

About Your Gary, IN Dentist:

As a native of northwest Indiana, Nicholas Cain, DDS, is dedicated to providing excellent cosmetic, preventive, and restorative dentistry to the community that raised him. To schedule your family’s next dental appointment, call Healthy Smiles today at 219-938-2637.