Common Problems

Orthodontic problems can affect anyone – in fact, our teeth are almost never naturally perfect. Malocclusion, or a “bad bite”, can cause problems with chewing, oral hygiene, speaking and aesthetics. A bad bite can be genetic, or can be caused by thumb sucking, dental disease, poor dental hygiene, accidents, birth defects or other medical conditions.

Being educated about the orthodontic problem you or your child may have is the first step to correcting it. Orthodontic treatment performed by Dr. David Dyer can improve both the functionality of your bite and the appearance of your smile.

Below are some examples of the most common orthodontic problems.


Crowding Of The Teeth

This patient started treatment at age eleven and wore braces for 26 months. He loves his new smile.


Openbite: Front Teeth Don’t Touch

This patient sucked her thumb as a young child. She started treatment at age 13. She had braces and a special appliance called a crib to retrain the tongue for 28 months. Now she can bite the lettuce out of a sandwich!


Deep Overbite: Lower Front Teeth Bite Into Palate

This adult patient, age 25, required braces and jaw surgery to correct his severe overbite. His treatment took two years to complete. His problem could have been corrected without surgery if he had been treated before he was a teenager.


Missing Lateral Incisors

This patient’s lateral incisors were congenitally missing. She had braces for 20 months to move the teeth into the correct position, and then the missing teeth were replaced with bonded “Maryland” bridges.


Underbite: Lower Front Teeth In Front Of Upper Teeth

This patient’s underbite was causing her jaw joint discomfort and excessive wear patterns on her teeth. After 30 months of treatment starting at age 32, she now finds smiling and chewing much easier.


Spacing Of Teeth

This patient was bothered by the spaces between his teeth. Braces closed the spaces and gave him an ideal bite in 24 months. Special glued-in retainers help keep the spaces closed.


Overbite: Protruding Front Teeth

At age 10, this patient had a big overbite with the top teeth protruding beyond the bottom. She had two phases of treatment. The first helped her jaws to grow more harmoniously, and the second aligned her teeth and bite. At age 13, she was proudly displaying her new smile.


Non Braces Treatment

Sometimes, you don’t need braces to get noticeable improvements in tooth alignment. This patient was first seen at age seven for crowding of the lower permanent teeth. We performed a procedure to reduce the width of the adjacent baby teeth, and the permanent incisors aligned on their own in nine months.

 


Phase 1

This patient’s parents were concerned about both aesthetics and the health of the erupting permanent teeth when they brought him to the orthodontist at age eight. The crowded lower-front teeth touched the palate, and the upper-front teeth became extremely displaced from their normal positions.

After 20 months of Phase I treatment with an expander and partial braces, the patient’s appearance and dental function vastly improved.