Crossbites occur when your teeth fit incorrectly when closing your mouth, causing difficulty chewing and speaking as well as other health complications over time.
Crossbites typically develop over time during early childhood due to genetics, prolonged mouth breathing, or habits such as thumb sucking or tongue thrusting during development. All these can play a part in contributing to this form of malocclusion.
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Signs
If your teeth don’t line up when closing your mouth, this could be an indicator that you have crossbites. Under these circumstances, entire groups of lower teeth either lie in front of or behind your upper teeth (anterior crossbite and posterior crossbite respectively).
Crossbites can be caused by genetics and infant oral habits like thumb sucking/finger sucking, excessive bottle/pacifier use, tongue thrust and mouth breathing – as well as crowding/atypical loss of baby/early adult teeth as well as jaw misalignment – among many others.
Untreated crossbites may lead to various issues, including:
Effects
Crossbites can lead to permanent issues with jaw and teeth health if left untreated, including genetic factors like small upper jaws or narrow palates, oral habits that impact how teeth and jaws grow (such as prolonged thumb or pacifier sucking, tongue thrusting or mouth breathing), as well as pressure being put on their roof by thumb sucking or other methods affecting them, such as prolonged thumb sucking. All these habits put undue stress behind top front teeth causing them to move from their original positions.
Crossbites may result from various causes, including delayed or early loss of baby teeth, improper eruption of permanent ones and facial or jaw injuries. Crossbites may either be unilateral or bilateral depending on which side of the mouth they affect and whether all or only some teeth are involved; unilateral cases typically affect only front teeth while bilateral types involve both front and back. A unilateral crossbite typically affects only front teeth while bilateral crossbites usually impact both. A palatal expander may help correct bilateral crossbites by widening upper jaw to correct misalignments caused by misalignments between front and back teeth – both can be corrected using widening upper jaw expander which widens upper jaw widens upper jaw to correct misalignments created from misalignments between upper jaw misalignments between front and back teeth causing misalignments between them allowing their proper alignments.
Treatment
Left untreated, crossbites can worsen over time and lead to additional dental health complications, as well as impacting overall facial structures. Children experiencing severe crossbites should seek treatment immediately in order to prevent future complications.
Some individuals develop crossbites due to genetics; however, it’s also possible that it results from early dental habits in infants that continue throughout childhood. Things such as thumb sucking, prolonged use of pacifiers or bottles and tongue thrust can put pressure on teeth that then shift resulting in crossbite.
Crossbites can be corrected with orthodontics. Traditional metal braces are an effective treatment option for both anterior and posterior crossbites, helping correct moderate to severe misalignments. Clear aligners such as Invisalign may also help address mild to moderate crossbites effectively. A dentist will evaluate your needs and suggest the ideal course of action.
Prevention
Crossbites can be avoided through various strategies. One such way is seeking treatment for persistent thumb-sucking, finger sucking, mouth breathing or tongue thrusting habits which begin as early as childhood and place pressure on teeth and jaws that could alter how they develop over time.
Crossbites can also result from issues related to transitioning from baby teeth to permanent ones, missing them altogether and crowding of the jawbone – when too many teeth are packed too tightly together which pushes out their proper positions and forces crossbites.
If your children exhibit these types of issues, it is advisable to see an orthodontist as soon as they turn seven in order to receive treatment before their adult teeth arrive and prevent crossbites from developing.
