Considering the same problem of having a bad bite there exist several solutions. You can extract the teeth, use braces, you can put on night guards, or make a tooth reshaping. What way is the best? It depends. This decision must be made on an individual basis.
Firstly, in any case, even if it seems to be nothing serious or you are sure about the problem that concerns you, it is important to make a routine exam. Only after this procedure the professional dentist will be able to decide over the future treatment.
Usually the exam includes X-rays, panorex or cephalometric X-rays, photographs of the problem teeth and their models. All these measures are taken to avoid mistakes during the future, complicated treatment of your bad bite.
As soon as the exam is finished you can be sure that the right solution to fix your bad bite will be taken. This solution depends on how difficult the correction will be. So, if the teeth are too crowded, or the front teeth are positioned too far forward then a surgery, including teeth extracting can be used.
In the first case, when your teeth are excessively large or there is not enough bone in your mouth to fit all the teeth, the problem can be corrected in two ways. The arch of bone can be expanded in order to fit all of your teeth, or certain teeth can be pulled to provide more space for the others.
In the second case, the case of excessive expansion, the dental arch and jaw are expanded too much and make your face look full. It makes your lips hard to close over the teeth, too. To solve the problem you can use braces or have a surgery.
The surgery is faster. It consists of breaking your mandible, lower jaw, and installing it into the right position. But even if you choose this way, in order not to wear different dental appliances, then know that braces will be used, too. Apart from that, your straight looking teeth don’t mean that they are in the correct position in the jaw.
Night guards, also called night braces, are a good way to correct your bad bite. These custom-made plastic dental appliances must fit over your top or bottom teeth. Night guards are usually worn while you sleep. Their goal is to reduce the wear and tear grinding causes your teeth, helping to improve a bad bite.
Orthodontics includes dental braces, orthodontic retainers and other dental appliances. In this case, the malocclusion is treated by teeth slow moving into the correct position. The whole process of fixing the bad bite with braces can take from 12 to 24 months. Children and teenagers have their treatment faster because the young jaw is still developing and is easier to be moved.
If the problem is not serious and your teeth are displaces a little you can use a teeth reshaping. The dentist will have you bite down on a piece of coated paper placed between your upper and lower teeth. The paper will leave colored marks at the points where your teeth touch. Then the dentist will use a dental drill to shape the teeth so that they only touch where they are supposed to touch. This method is also used when your teeth are fairly well aligned but still not touching perfectly.
Some people consider porcelain veneers as a good solution to your bad bite. But you’d better not use veneers when you have excessive expanded teeth. The truth is that your bottom teeth would really be putting a lot of force right at the edge of the veneers and this would create a greater risk than normal for breaking them. Apart from this, the price of a good dental brace to fix your bite is the same.
As you already know there are more ways to correct your bad bite. Extracting the teeth is faster, but it doesn’t mean better. In case you are really pressed for time, then the choice is yours. However, consider the consequences. Always.