Braces for [Overjet, Openbite, and Crossbite]

The day you decide to improve your smile or support a loved one to do the same is a big one. After all, the smile is the first impression people have of you! People who don’t feel confident because they have noticeable smile irregularities such as an overbite, open bite or crossbite often feel reluctant to smile.

When you don’t want to smile, people may get the wrong impression about your personality! But even more than a desire to fix these types of cosmetic oral health issues, there is an underlying health risk to permitting minor or major issues relating to the bite, jaw or alignment go unresolved.

Orthodontic treatment can fix both the cosmetic concerns and oral health issues you have through treatment with braces, Invisalign aligners or a combination approach. Read on to learn more about how orthodontic treatment works!

Methods for Straightening Teeth

Orthodontic professionals today have a range of cutting-edge options for straightening teeth and aligning the bite for optimal health. However, for many patients, just the word “braces” sends them running for the hills! Rest assured that today’s treatments are nothing like the early days of orthodontics when the hardware was heavy and bulky and discomfort was the norm.

Today, you can choose from a number of lightweight, unobtrusive and streamlined types of hardware, including metal, ceramic and clear. These can be applied either to the front or the back (lingual) of the teeth, depending on the patient’s needs and goals. The latter two types of hardware are specifically designed to look and feel as if they are nearly invisible. Which can be a particular incentive for kids and teen patients to embrace their orthodontic treatment with enthusiasm!

In addition to braces, you can also opt for a newer and very popular system called Invisalign instead. Invisalign is available for teen and adult patients and it uses a series of clear aligners (which are sort of like mouth guards or retainers) to do the same job. When you select aligners, your daily life can go on uninterrupted without any dietary restrictions or activity limitations.

Daily cleaning is a breeze and the aligners by removing for a day or evening here and there with no harm done. Most patients are good candidates for either type of teeth straightening system, but to know for sure which approach will best meet your cosmetic and oral health needs, you will need to consult with Dr. Gluck.

Understanding Bite and Alignment Issues

When you decide to seek orthodontic care, you may be aware of what it is you want to change about your smile, but you may not be quite so familiar with what those issues are called. Four of the most common types of bite issues include the overjet, the overbite, the open bite and the crossbite. This brief explanation of these four common issues will help you start to get familiar with the “lingo” of orthodontic treatment!

Overjet

The overjet is a bite issue that occurs when your top row of teeth (especially the teeth right in the front) jut out horizontally over the lower row of teeth.

Overbite

The overbite occurs when the top row of teeth vertically overlap the lower row of teeth.

Openbite

An open bite happens when the teeth in the front of both the upper jaw and lower jaw are unable to meet when the mouth is closed.

Crossbite

A crossbite can occur in any area where the teeth in the upper jaw fall inside the teeth in the lower jaw.

Luckily, orthodontic care can successfully treat and resolve all four of these bite issues, as well as many other complications that can prevent a pleasing smile and good oral health.

How Much Can Orthodontics Help?

Orthodontics has been the treatment approach of choice for straightening and correcting jaw alignment and bite issues since the early 20th century. Today in the 21st century, there are more treatment options. Options with shorter treatment times than at any other time in history.

Often complex overlapping oral health issues are treated simultaneously by a skilled orthodontist well-versed in the latest orthodontic techniques.

When to Seek an Initial Orthodontic Consultation

For children, the current recommended age for an initial consultation is on or before age seven depending on family history and visible oral health issues. Not only can this help to identify developing issues at a time in life when correction and prevention can still overlap. The young future patient will acclimate to orthodontic care in advance.

More adults are seeking orthodontic treatment today than at any other time in history. More than 1.5 million adult patients have received bite alignment, teeth straightening and oral health treatment correction since 2014, according to the American Association of Orthodontics.

The truth is, orthodontic care is a good idea at any age. Improving oral health can prevent serious periodontal disease and greatly reduce future oral health maintenance costs. But most importantly, receiving orthodontic care will give you a healthy, straight smile you love to show off!

About Gluck Orthodontics

Drs. Joel and Jonathan Gluck are the father and son team in charge of Gluck Orthodontics. Dr. Joel Gluck is a certified Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics. An honor a mere 25 percent of orthodontic practitioners can claim. Dr. Jonathan Gluck is the newest American Board of Orthodontics board-certified orthodontist practicing in the Nashville area.

At Gluck Orthodontics, the patients needs reign supreme. A fact that makes Gluck Orthodontics a popular choice for patients of all ages in the Nashville and surrounding areas.  Schedule your consultation for the “Gluck Patient Experience” today.

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Gluck Orthodontics
2002 Richard Jones Road
Suite A-200
Nashville TN 37215
Phone: 615 269 5903

[Braces for] Overjet, Open bite, and Crossbite?

joelgluck

Dr. Joel Gluck has practiced orthodontics since 1983 when he opened his own office in Nashville. He earned his undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis, and his dental degree at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Gluck then completed an orthodontic specialty residency at the University of Michigan, one of the top five orthodontic training residencies in the country. He also wrote an original thesis and received a Master of Science degree.