Excessive Teeth Wear Could Indicate Malocclusion
Posted on: 20 December 2016
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Oral health issues, such as tooth wear, can seem rather mysterious to many people. This is especially true when wearing seems to occur over and over again only in certain portions of the mouth. When this occurs, tooth misalignment or malocclusion is the likely culprit.
What Is Malocclusion?
Occlusion refers to the alignment of the teeth, particularly the proper alignment. When they are aligned properly, a person is said to have perfect occlusion and their teeth on the top and bottom should close perfectly, with the grooves of the molars fitting without a problem. However, malocclusion occurs when a person's teeth are poorly aligned.
In layman's terms, these disorders are often called overbites and under bites. Severe cases can create an unappealing appearance and many dental problems. However, a less obvious one may still cause dental health problems over a period of time, particularly the appearance of excessive tooth wear in one location of the mouth.
How It Causes Worn Teeth
Excessively worn teeth in a specific section of the mouth is a typical indicator of malocclusion. For example, someone with an overbite may have excessive wear on their bottom molars due to the placement of their teeth. The wear will vary depending on the severity of the malocclusion, as well as the type that occurs.
Most cases of malocclusion are obvious enough early in a person's life. However, less severe cases may linger for years and cause serious dental damage. As a result, treatment methods for this problem should be undertaken as soon as possible to protect the person's teeth.
Treatment Methods
If a dentist discovers malocclusion in a person's teeth, they will have to treat them using a variety of different methods. The most common of these is the use of a mouth guard. This mouth guard will be worn over night to correct teeth alignment issues and manage malocclusion. However, in cases of severe malocclusion which don't require compressing the teeth, surgery may be necessary.
Cosmetic dental surgery for malocclusion typically involves identifying how the teeth are misaligned, breaking the jaw, and resetting it properly. Other surgical treatments include removing and replacing misaligned teeth and working to ensure that a bite is even. This will help eliminate the serious wear caused by malocclusion.
Anyone who suffers from severely worn teeth in a certain section of their mouth should talk to a cosmetic dentist and oral surgeon to discover a treatment method. This can help protect their teeth from more serious damage and other problems.