Malocclusions can be inherited or acquired. Inherited problems can include crowding of teeth, too much space between teeth, extra teeth, congenitally missing teeth and a wide range of discrepancies of the jaws, teeth and face. Acquired problems can be caused by traumas such as thumb or finger sucking, airway obstructions by tonsil and adenoids, dental diseases and premature loss of baby or adult teeth. Many of these problems can affect not only alignment of the teeth, but also facial development and appearance as well.

Although determining if treatment is necessary can be difficult, the following signs may help in prompting you to seek orthodontic advice: crowded or overlapping teeth, gaps between the teeth, front top teeth not lining up with the bottom teeth, top front teeth not meeting with the bottom teeth and top front teeth covering more than 50% of the bottom teeth can signal the need to investigate. If you see any misalignment of shifting of the jaw, your child may have a skeletal problem, which may require early orthodontic treatment. These are only some of the obvious symptoms of orthodontic problems.

Braces may be on between 6-30 months, or in rare instances longer. This depends on the development of the dentition, the severity of the problem, the patient’s cooperation, and the degree of teeth movement required.

Crowded teeth can be addressed in a couple of ways. Extraction therapy is a technique where one or more teeth are removed to make room for the other teeth in the mouth. This is in contrast to non-extraction therapy where one expands a patients jaw and or adjusts the size and shape of some teeth to make them fit within the jaw. Our office’s treatment philosophy is very conservative and we do make every effort to avoid extraction. However, for severe crowding and severe jaw discrepancy the extraction approach may be required.