I figured I’d end the series on correcting malocclusions with “pretty” thoughts… thoughts about the visible benefits of occlusal correction.

What makes your smile natural also makes it beautiful. A correct bite will show in a smile that looks exactly how it was designed to look, not only displayed by straight teeth, but by the rest of your face as well. Your jaw moves in a way that is no longer detrimental to the surrounding muscles and joints in your face; your teeth no longer inhibit that movement or acquire further wear-and-tear; and you’ll be feeling better overall, because unusual tightness or tiredness in your mouth area will be gone. Add to all of that the confidence of a pretty smile!

A different kind of analysis, called a functional and aesthetic analysis, may be performed during the therapy in order to ensure the longterm health and beauty of your teeth.

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles

This type of therapy for occlusal correction is temporary, but does a lot of good things over a period of time to protect your bite and its bad effects on your whole chewing system — even your whole head, down to your shoulders.

I’ve mentioned the MAGO way back when, and how I use it to treat TMJ cases. This is just about identical. It is basically a hard plastic mouthguard designed to fit your mouth in such a way that provides a stable bite and prevents further clenching and/or grinding of your teeth. The splint also relieves jaw and muscle pain caused by malocclusion problems. The kind of treatment you’ll need after using an occlusal splint will determine how long you wear it, and may even change the course of negative effects again caused by your malocclusion.

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles

Correcting a malocclusion with orthodontic dentistry is similar to selective reshaping of teeth. The difference, however, is that selective reshaping is meant for moving one or a few individual teeth. Orthodontics moves broader groups of teeth using removable contraptions like braces or retainers. These methods also cause pleasing aesthetic results, straightening teeth and providing a pretty smile.

Careful comprehensive observance must be taken as the teeth are being corrected, in case moving so many teeth causes other negative changes in the chewing system. Just because your teeth are now straight doesn’t mean other problems are not present or waiting to appear. All cares and concerns should be voiced as early as possible, whether before, throughout, or after the process has been carried out.

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles

The focus here is on occlusal (bite) correction, but this is where my CEREC unit comes in handy: restorations! Completely decayed, damaged, or missing teeth might be one of the most obvious problems contributing to a malocclusion… we cannot chew properly without all our teeth.

Like selective reshaping of teeth, restorative dental work is focused on the teeth and, well, restoring them, as opposed to reshaping the jaw or working with the surrounding muscles and cartilage. Crowns, inlays, onlays, dentures, or implants can be formed to bring back a mouth full of fully functional teeth.

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles

This is probably the first solution one might think of when wondering how a malocclusion will be corrected. The teeth are grinding together, so just move them around so they don’t. Right?

Well, I think we’ve learned that it’s a little bit more complex than that; but in some cases, the solution is as “simple” as moving teeth around. If the jaw, surrounding muscles and tissues, and everything else seems to be functioning well, selective reshaping can take place, and your teeth will fit together correctly when you bite down. This will halt and prevent further wear-and-tear on teeth that are perhaps showing signs of cracking, wearing, chipping, or breaking.

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles