An anterior open bite is a condition where a patient’s top and bottom front teeth are unable to make contact, often including teeth that protrude outwards.

Anterior open bites vary in severity and cause. Some factors that can lead to an anterior open bite include thumb sucking and pacifier use in children, airway irregularities, mouth breathing, sleep-related disorders, such as snoring and apnea, as well as disproportionate facial bone growth in adolescents and adults. While oftentimes the primary concern of patients with an anterior open bite relates to their appearance, other complications include speech difficulties, disproportionate wear to the rear teeth, jaw muscle pain, and trouble eating due to inability to bite into food.

There are a variety of solutions that can assist with correcting an anterior open bite. Your doctor will work with you to determine a treatment plan that best fits your unique situation and needs.

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Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, or TMD for short, is a condition involving the joints, muscles, nerves and teeth involved with jaw movement. It could be related to one or all components. When not working harmoniously or in sync, or the chewing system is not improperly aligned, a variety signs or uncomfortable and potentially painful symptoms may result for clients.

The temporomandibular joint is the complex hinge that joins your lower jaw and skull together. It works similarly to a ball and socket, but also has the unique ability to glide forward via a series of muscles, ligaments, and fibrous tissues all working together. Many factors can contribute to the development of TMD, including misalignment of the jaw and the way teeth touch, tooth clenching or grinding, arthritis, and posture issues. Anxiety and stress have also been shown to be related to TMD issues.

These factors may lead to inflammation of the joint and/or surrounding tissues, oftentimes triggering the connected pain receptors throughout the head, neck and face. Common symptoms include jaw pain or soreness extending through the face and neck, jaw clicking or popping, restricted jaw movement or locking, sensitive teeth, loose teeth, irregular or excessive tooth wear, earaches, and headaches, amongst others.

The wide range of possible resulting symptoms is what has historically made correctly diagnosing TMD challenging. If your doctor suspects TMD might be an issue, they will perform a thorough physical examination of the area and overall chewing system evaluating your jaw movement and noting any related tenderness or discomfort. Oftentimes they will also take diagnostic images to aid the fact-finding process.
There are a variety of treatments available to assist with properly diagnosing and alleviating some or all TMD discomfort, depending on the nature and severity of the issues causing it. It is important to work closely with your doctor to create a treatment plan that best meets your unique needs.

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Occlusion is a term dentists use to describe how teeth come together. When a patient has proper occlusion it means that their teeth touch as intended much like gears coming together in an engine.

In some cases, a client’s upper molars line up behind their lower molars, causing what is commonly called an underbite. This causes the lower jaw to protrude outward, with the lower front teeth sitting out in front of the uppers. Bite misalignment, or malocclusion, can result in a number of consequences as the teeth come into contact in unintended ways. These can include jaw and muscle pain, difficulty eating and speaking, excessive or uneven tooth wear, and cracking and potential loss of the affected teeth.

There are several options available to treat bite misalignment issues. Treatment will vary based on the underlying cause and the severity of misalignment, making it critical to work closely with your dentist to develop a plan that best meets your unique needs.

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Occlusion is a term dentists use to describe how teeth come together. When a client has proper occlusion it means that their teeth touch as intended much like gears coming together in an engine.

In some cases, a patient’s upper molars line up forward of their lower molars, causing the upper teeth to protrude forward in what is commonly called an overbite. Depending on the patient, the upper front teeth will usually be either tilted outward towards the lip, or inward towards the lower teeth.

Bite misalignment, or malocclusion, can result in a number of consequences as the teeth come into contact in unintended ways. These can include jaw and muscle pain, difficulty eating and speaking, excessive or uneven tooth wear, and cracking and potential loss of the affected teeth.

There are several options available to treat bite misalignment issues. Treatment will vary based on the underlying cause and the severity of misalignment, making it critical to work closely with your dentist to develop a plan that best meets your unique needs.

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Occlusion is a term dentists use to describe how teeth come together. When a patient has proper occlusion it means that their teeth touch as intended much like gears coming together in an engine.

In some cases a client’s rear molars line up properly, but their front teeth are out of place, whether from spacing problems, crowding, rotation, or from overly protruding forward. Bite misalignment, or malocclusion, can result in a number of consequences as the teeth come into contact in unintended ways. These can include jaw and muscle pain, excessive or uneven tooth wear, cracking, and potential loss of the affected teeth.

There are several options available to treat bite misalignment issues. Treatment will vary based on the underlying cause and the severity of misalignment, making it critical to work closely with your dentist to develop a plan that best meets your unique needs.

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Occlusion is the term used when discussing your bite and how your teeth come together and move side to side in your mouth. Healthy occlusion, or a healthy bite, can be affected by multiple factors that your doctor will evaluate during the course of your exam. Bite alignment is established by many variables- including shape and alignment of the teeth, jaw structure and location, and the function of the muscles all working together in harmony.

In a healthy bite, when biting together completely, the ball (of the ball and socket, also known as the TMJ or temporomandibular joint), should be centered in the socket on both sides. Your molars should fit together much like pieces to a puzzle and all touch evenly and simultaneously. They should touch slightly harder than your front teeth. Your upper front teeth should come down so that the lower front teeth sit comfortably behind them with minimal contact occurring. Just like the front teeth, your upper molars align slightly outside of your lower ones, so that the cusps on the lower teeth contact inside the ridge of the upper teeth.

If any aspect of this complex system does not come together properly, it can result in tooth pain, muscle pain, joint pain, headaches, and difficulty with basic chewing and speaking functions. Your doctor is the best resource to help you understand the unique characteristics of your bite alignment and how it could potentially be improved.

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A healthy chewing system is determined by multiple factors that your doctor will evaluate during the course of your exam, one of which is the actual jaw joint, the hinge that opens and closes your mouth. The hinge is a ball and socket, similar to those in your shoulder and hip. When in a closed position, ideally the ball fits into the socket on each side of your head and should fully rest up and into the socket, in a position often referred to as centric relation. As your jaw opens, the ball not only rotates in the socket, but actually glides out of the socket, allowing your mouth to open wide and forward. This is a critical component of healthy jaw function.

A key component of the ball and socket is a piece of cartilage separating the two, called the articulator disk. It ideally remains on top of the ball as is slides in and out of the socket. This ensures smooth jaw movement and optimal protection of the bone surface.

Your chewing muscles can play a major role in allowing your joints to move symmetrically into the ”centric relation” position. When your jaw is opening and closing, each side of the jaw should be moving in concert with the other so that the jaw is moving along the center, or midline of your face.

An evaluation of the ”centric relation” position is a key in determining if any aspect of this complex system is not working properly. When not in harmony, it can result in painful muscles, as well as jaw and bite misalignment. Your dentist is the best resource to help you understand the unique characteristics of how your jaw functions and how it could potentially be improved.

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For some patients experiencing symptoms of a poorly functioning chewing system, your doctor may recommend a procedure called equilibration to create more ideal contact between your upper and lower teeth. This process can require multiple appointments to complete.
After a thorough evaluation of your chewing system, your doctor will take impressions of your upper and lower teeth.

These impressions are used to create a set of models of your mouth that your doctor uses to analyze the way your teeth contact, and determine the most effective way to adjust them. Next your dentist strategically makes slight modifications, re-contouring the cusps, or points, of your teeth, or smoothing out landing areas for the cusps, allowing them to fit together better when you bite down. Your doctor may smoothen some areas of your front teeth as well to allow them better movement.

As your chewing system adapts to the improved function, follow up appointments may be necessary for your doctor to evaluate the contacts of your teeth and make additional modifications as needed. You may experience some changes in the way your muscles and teeth feel during this initial period. Once completed, the end result is a better alignment of your teeth, muscles, and joints all working together more uniformly, allowing for optimal jaw movement and comfort.

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