In a previous article, we had provided a glossary of common
terms, one of them was malocclusion which is the Latin word for “bad bite.” Believe
it or not, there are a number of different types of bad bites that we see in
children. A couple of the most common are:
Cross bites: Cross bites are probably the most common type
of bites we see in children. They can happen to the back or the front teeth. Regarding
the front teeth, when the top teeth fit inside of the bottom teeth, it is most commonly
referred to as an under bite. When there is a cross bite of the back teeth, it
can potentially lead to jaw problems.
Open bites: Open bites occur when a child bites down, their
front teeth form an opening. This type of bite generally comes from finger sucking or
thumb sucking.
Deep bites: These types of bites are characterized by the
top teeth overlapping the bottom teeth and when the child smiles, you don’t see
as many bottom teeth as you would like.
Crowding: Crowding in a child’s mouth doesn’t always require
orthodontic treatment because the mouth hasn’t stopped growing. Sometimes adult
teeth come in a little earlier or later than planned and their size doesn’t
always perfectly align with the current baby teeth.
It’s best to see an orthodontist about any one of these
types of bites, he or she will then be able to respond with a course of action. For more information, check out these AAO-produced video:
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