Occlusion

Specialists / Oral Maxillofacial

What is it

Dental occlusion refers to the way your teeth and jaw sit together or how your upper and lower rows of teeth contact with each other. To be more specific, it’s the relationship between your mandibular or lower teeth and maxillary or upper teeth when they come into contact with each other, like when you close your mouth or chew your food. The way your teeth are put together helps in the way you smile, speak, and eat.

Types of Dental Occlusion

Static Occlusion: Static occlusion is the contact between your maxillary and mandibular teeth when the jaw is stationary and closed.

Dynamic Occlusion: Dynamic occlusion is also known as articulation. There’s no tooth contact between the chewing side of the mouth’s teeth.

Centric Occlusion: Centric occlusion is the opposing teeth occlusion when the mandible is centric. It’s the first tooth contact and may or may not correspond with maximum intercuspation.

What is Malocclusion

You can have an underbite, overbite, or perfectly aligned teeth. Making sure you have the proper bite or occlusion is part of orthodontic therapy.

Malocclusion refers to the misalignment of the jaws and teeth, resulting in what’s known as a bad bite. Malocclusion can result in various dental complications.

Complications with Malocclusion 

Whenever there’s a misalignment with your occlusion, it can make your jaw muscles and face work harder, leading to bite problems such as: 

• Teeth problems
  • Sensitive teeth
  • Wobbly teeth
  • Fractured teeth
• Bodily problems
  • Muscle tension
  • Pain behind the eyes
  • Neck aches
  • Headaches
  • Pain in the jaw joint

Assessment

There are two types of assessments 

• Extra-Oral Assessment
  • assessment of the shape of your face and jaw from the outside
• Intra-Oral Assessment 
  • to assess that state of your bite or occlusion from the inside of your mouth 
  • OccluSense® 

How Occlusion Problem is Treated

Equilibration: Dental or occlusal equilibration is a comparatively gentle procedure. It typically involves fixing one or more teeth in order to create a more solid bite that prevents teeth stress on each individual tooth. This treatment also reduces trauma or pressure on the jaw joints and muscles for good measure.

Restorative Treatment: Adding dental crowns to correct your bite and draw it into the right alignment. This therapy works to restore the bite you’ve lost due to bruxism, tooth decay, cavities, tooth loss or forced extraction, missing teeth, dental gaps, and so forth.

Splints: Bite guards, dental splints, or occlusal splints are placed on the maxillary or mandibular teeth in order to alter the occlusion of the bite by virtue of jaw muscle relaxation. Splints are helpful to prevent fractures and teeth chipping. Splints are also commonly used for treatment for TMDs of temporomandibular disorders. 

Orthodontics: A “bad” or inefficient bite may need the fitting of orthodontic braces to correct your bite when push comes to shove. Fixed braces are usually the likeliest treatment of choice because they offer the maximum amount of movement. However, you can consult with your dentist and decide if this or another method is the best orthodontic method for you.