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What is a Dental Crossbite?

A crossbite is a form of malocclusion in which a tooth or teeth are inclined into a buccal or lingual position, this is a misalignment of the dental arches. In other words, when your upper teeth tend to fall inside your lower teeth this is what can be called an underbite or a malocclusion crossbite. This may be caused by tooth positioning or an abnormal jaw positioning, usually occurring when biting down front upper teeth will fall behind your lower front teeth. A crossbite can be present because of many factors one being inherit it. If one or both parents have a crossbite present it is very likely for offspring to inherit this condition. Not only can these be some of the factors for having a crossbite but also the size of your jaw can be a big exterminator, as the size of your jaw is a major impact when having a crossbite; reason being if an upper jaw is smaller rather than the upper jaw can bring them to collide when biting down.crossbite

A crossbite can begin from a young age as children are very prone to developing this condition. Why is this you may ask? This is because if baby teeth don’t fall out in their correspondent time it can cause damage to their permanent teeth by now allowing them to have enough room to grow. Permanent will begin to grow behind baby teeth which will cause the crossbite when the child bites down. Another reason why children are prone on obtaining a dental crossbite is when child has oversized tonsils or adenoids, this can trigger a development towards a crossbite. This can seem like an unreasonable cause but due to oversized tonsils or adenoids a child might have the necessity to begin breathing through his or her mouth rather than breathing through their nose which in the long run can affect the proper growth of their jaw. This can gradually change the positioning of the child’s upper and lower jaw.

There are several ways in which a crossbite can be treated, one being therapies such as braces or other orthodontic treatment that can help treat the way your jaw is positioned and position it back to where it should be. The correction of a crossbite is not only just for cosmetic but also it is for the health of the overall oral cavity such as your teeth and gums. If crossbite has been left untreated several other conditions can arise such as the TMJ or TMD disorder. Other problems can come from this disorder such as receding gums, loose teeth and also excessive wear away of tooth enamel which can puts patients at a higher risk of obtaining dental cavities. The correct way to treat your crossbite should be discussed with your treating dentist every person can have a different option from orthodontic treatment to other optional treatments.

If you feel or think you have a jaw misalignment like a crossbite, do not hesitate and visit your dental office Smiles on Bristol to have a proper diagnosis and begin dental treatment for such dental problem. If you have any other questions regarding dental crossbite, please feel free and contact our dentist Dr. Danial Kalantari at our office Smiles on Bristol.Contact Us