You may have come across the term ‘bite problems’ and often wondered what it meant. Bite problems revolve around the alignment of your jaw and the ease of opening and closing your mouth. Misalignment of your teeth and jaws can affect your breathing, speech, and also your facial appearance. A bad bite, which is often called as “malocclusion“, can cause crooked, worn out, or protruded teeth. Bite problems are of different types. Let’s take a look in detail at three different types of bites.

Underbite

Your lower teeth are ideally supposed to lie behind the upper teeth. But, in this condition, your lower teeth land in front of the upper teeth when jaws are closed. You may not know, but underbite can affect the molars in addition to the upper incisor teeth. People who suffer from underbite have a prominent lower jaw.

Symptoms

• Difficulty in chewing
• Headaches
• Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome

Causes

• Thumb sucking
• Adenoids or allergies that cause you to breathe through the mouth
• Genetic reasons

If not treated immediately, underbite can lead to speech and articulation problems.

Overbite

The vertical overlap of the upper teeth over the lower teeth is described by the term, “Overbite.”  In normal cases, overbite is about 3-5mm. But, when the overbite is above 3-5mm between the teeth, then such a condition is abnormal. 70 percent of the dental disorders in children are most likely caused due to overbite, thus making it a common type of malocclusion

Symptoms

• Difficulty in chewing food
• Headaches
• Stress caused by temporomandibular joint disorder

Causes

• Genetic disorders
• Extensive use of a pacifier
• Thumb sucking
• Tongue thrusting at a young age

Crossbite

A crossbite arises due to the irregularities of the occlusal surface of your tooth. In this condition, one or more teeth are tilted towards your cheek or tongue. Crossbite can happen either in the front or the sides of the mouth and is known to cause wear of the teeth, gum disease, and bone loss.

Symptoms

• The irregular eruption of new teeth
• Headaches and stress

Causes

• Genetic issues
• Careless chewing habits
• Thumb sucking
• Delayed loss of baby teeth

Dental disorders are an aesthetic concern for patients and can also lead to speech and articulation problems. Therefore, it is essential that these disorders should be treated immediately. Mostly the treatment for bite problems include braces and jaw retainers. Additionally, through some surgeries, jaw bone can be modified and improved as well. Consult our dental professionals and they can help you with dental treatments that would suit you the best.