Braces

Spacing, sometimes referred to as “gap teeth,” is when you have gaps between one or more teeth. Spacing can be caused by genetics, such as when the jaw is too large or your teeth are smaller than average in size. It can also be the result of oral habits like tongue thrust, thumb sucking or finger sucking. In other instances, a missing tooth or impacted tooth (a tooth that is stuck under the bone or gum and hasn’t erupted) leads to a gap.

The good news is, we can use any of the different types of braces for gaps between the teeth. Even in cases of a missing or impacted tooth, we’re able to create a braces treatment plan to shift the remaining teeth into their proper places. Doing so will allow the impacted tooth to erupt or your dentist to place a restoration like a dental implant to replace a missing tooth.

Crowding occurs when the jaw is too small to accommodate all of the teeth, the teeth are too big, baby teeth are lost prematurely or the permanent teeth erupt incorrectly. Teeth will often overlap, twist or get blocked out of line as they try to squeeze into the limited space. Our Henderson braces orthodontist can alleviate crowding and correct misaligned teeth with braces.

With both an overbite and overjet teeth, the top teeth are too far forward in relation to the bottom teeth when the mouth is closed. An overbite can be caused by genetics or oral habits like prolonged, vigorous thumb sucking. We can use braces for an overbite, as well as for overjet teeth correction.

Braces can also be effective for treating an underbite. An underbite is when the bottom teeth sit in front of the top teeth. This type of malocclusion is usually skeletal in nature, so the earlier it’s addressed, the more effective braces treatment will be.

What is a crossbite? A patient is said to have a crossbite when some of the bottom teeth sit in front of some of the top teeth. Both a front crossbite (anterior crossbite) and back crossbite (posterior crossbite) will typically respond well to any of the types of the braces.

An open bite is just what it sounds like: the teeth don’t meet at all when the mouth is closed and there is an opening, or space, between the top and bottom teeth. Dr. Okuda can fix an open bite with braces in order to prevent difficulties with chewing and speaking.