COMMON PROBLEMS

CLASS II (2)

Class II (2) represent an abnormal bite relationship in which the upper jaw and teeth are located in front of the lower jaw and teeth , this condition is primarily is genetic in origin. Class II patients usually show convex facial profile with detruded (backward placed) chin. It could be due to:

·        Prominent upper jaw and /or upper anterior teeth.

·        Backward placed or small lower jaw.

·        Combination of 1 and 2.

If your child have those manifestations, early treatment (before or just at puberty growth spurt) is of prime importance.

CLASS III (3)

As in Class II (2), Class III (3) conditions are also primary genetic in origin. However in Bahrain there are many class III cases due to nasal airway obstruction. In class III (3). The lower jaw and teeth are positioned in front of the upper jaw and teeth. Those patients usually seen to have large lower jaw, but in many cases the problem is due to upper jaw lack of development (placed backward).

If your child has class III, immediate attention is needed as in many of these cases surgical intervention can be avoided if treatment started timely and early enough.

CROSS BITE

Cross bite can occur at the back teeth (posterior cross bite) or at front teeth (anterior cross bite), it might involve one tooth or group of teeth.

At the back teeth (posterior cross bite), it is usually result from either wide upper jaw, narrow lower jaw or both. Where in front of the mouth (anterior cross bite),  cross bite is due to forward placement of one or more of lower front teeth or backward placement of one or more upper front teeth.

Treatment of cross bite is essential to avoid damages to the teeth (tooth wear) and to their supporting structure (gum & bone) and also might lead to TMJ problems.

CROWDING

Crowding is the most common problem in Bahrain and worldwide. It is basically result from a mismatch between the side of the teeth (their widths) and the space available for them in the jaws. Crowding usually doesn’t come alone but together with other orthodontic problems. Crowding might result in tooth impaction (inability of certain teeth to erupt – retained inside the bone), cross bite, difficult of baby teeth to fall off by themselves (retained teeth) as well as gum disease and dental caries (due to inability to clean teeth properly.

With the new technology such as Damon System and timely early treatment, more and more this problem can be sorted without the need for extracting permanent teeth.

DEEP BITE (OVERBITE)

Deep bite is excessive vertical overlap of upper and lower front teeth(normal vertical overlap is 20—30%) and it usually associated with the jaws too close to each other vertically, and result in excessive eruption of both upper and lower front teeth. If deep bite left untreated, it could result in tooth wear, fragility and shortening of front teeth, and sever deep bite trauma to gum.

Early treatment of deep bite is faster and more stable.

GUMMY SMILE:

It is excessive display of the gum of upper front teeth when smiling and sometimes even at resting position. There are several options for treatment range from simple laser surgery to treatment excessive gum tissue to surgical correction of the jaws.

OPEN BITE

Open bite is the inability of teeth to meet, it can occur to the front teeth (Anterior Open bite) or to the back teeth (Posterior Open bite).

Anterior Open bite is inability  of front teeth to overlap vertically more common (normal vertical overlap is 20—30%)  and it is due to the Jaws and/or front teeth  are widely apart vertically which could be genetic in nature or due to nasal airway obstruction (common in Bahrain) or due habits like thumb r digit sucking.

Beside its negative effect on appearance, open bite could disturb chewing food and proper speech.

When you see such a case in your child, immediate intervention is needed to analyze the root of the problem, eliminating it and then treating it timely and early because if left late, surgical intervention might be needed.

SPACING

Spaced teeth is a very common problem among Bahrainis, and it is due to smaller sized  teeth compared to the space available in the jaw, missing one or more teeth, periodontal breakdown (advanced gum disease) or prominent front teeth (front teeth excessively positioned forward).

Majority of spaces problem can be corrected with braces, however some of spaces problem needs cosmetic and prosthetic treatments in addition to braces.

Be reminded that to keep the correction of these cases stable (life long), you might need to use bonded (stuck on) retainer permanently.