Spacing between teeth can be the result of missing teeth, teeth that are too narrow for a wide jaw or certain habits. The most common complaint from those with excessive space is poor appearance but the health of the gums can be compromised if spacing persists for long periods of time.

Crowding is the lack of space for teeth to fit normally within the jaws. The teeth may be overlapping, sticking out or “blocked out” of line. Crowding occurs when there is an imbalance in the tooth to jaw size relationship, or when the teeth are larger than the available space. Alternatively, crowding can be caused by the early loss of primary teeth or when adult teeth erupt improperly.

Abnormal eruption is when a tooth appears in the wrong spot. Sometimes a tooth may even be completely blocked from growing in at all. This is called an impacted tooth. In some cases of impacted teeth, a small surgical incision may be required by your dentist or oral surgeon to uncover the tooth from the gums to allow it to join the rest of the teeth.

There are two types of crossbites:

Anterior (Front) Crossbite: This occurs when one or more upper front teeth are behind one or more lower front teeth. 

Posterior (Back) Crossbite: This is when the upper back teeth are on the inside of the lower back teeth. When this occurs, the patient will typically compensate by moving the lower jaw to one side, which can lead to permanent changes  over time.

When most people refer to an open bite they are referring to an anterior open bite. This is identified when the back teeth are closed, but the front teeth still appear to be open. This can be a result of a number of habits such as thumb sucking in school-aged kids and tongue thrusting, or can be the result of a person's growth

Deep bite, or over bite as it is more commonly known, is the vertical misalignment between the upper and lower front teeth. Typically, the upper front teeth should cover about 25% of the bottom front teeth when biting. Anything more than that is considered overbite.

Commonly incorrectly referred to as an “overbite,” this scenario occurs when the front teeth stick out farther than the bottom teeth. The timing for correction of this problem is crucial. If treated early with the use of appliance and braces, there is no need for a complex surgery as an adult.

This is when the lower teeth sit in front of the upper teeth. Underbites occur when the lower jaw grows at a faster rate than the upper jaw. It’s very important to monitor the patient’s growth in these situations.