Common Orthodontic Issues

Crowding of the teeth

Crowding is a common issue that can be treated with braces and sometimes aligners. We bring all the teeth into alignment and use elastics to correct the occlusion. 

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Open bite - Front teeth don't touch

This patient's open bite caused several functional issues, including eating. We expanded his arch with an maxillary skeletal expander (MSE) and he wore braces and elastics to close his bite, giving him a beautiful and functioning smile.

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Deep overbite - Lower front teeth bite into palate

A deep bite can be corrected with braces by leveling the upper arch and intruding the lower anterior teeth. Elastics are then worn to get the patient in proper occlusion. 

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Missing lateral incisors

This adult patient had a missing right lateral and a left peg lateral. With braces we made space for the left side to have a larger crown placed and prepared the right side for an implant. 

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Underbite - Lower front teeth in front of upper teeth

This patient's bite was fixed by wearing an appliace called an MSE (maxillairy skeletal expander). Once his palate was expanded, we were able to correct the discrepencies with braces in 24 months.

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Spacing of teeth

This patient had spacing on the upper and lower teeth. Braces first aligned the teeth and then powerchains were placed to close the spaces. Elastics helped to close the bite into proper occlusion. 

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Overjet - Protruding front teeth

This patient's overjet was due to thumb sucking. He had a Phase One treatment to break the habit, widen his palate, and align the anterior teeth. A Phase Two treatment was done after all of the patient's adult teeth were present to get his perfect smile.

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Phase-One

Phase One treatments are done to prepare a patients mouth for all adult teeth to erupt into place. Generally a palatal expander (RPE) is used to widen the palate, and then braces are placed on the front six teeth to bring everything together. Most patients will need a Phase Two once all adult dentition is present.