Treatment for adults include a combination of extractions, fixed appliances, intermaxillary elastics and orthognathic surgery. For children, orthodontics is usually used to compensate for continued growth. With children with mixed dentition, the malocclusion may resolve on its own as the permanent teeth erupt. Furthermore, should the malocclusion be caused by childhood habits such as digit, thumb or pacifier sucking, it may result in resolution as the habit is stopped. Habit deterrent appliances may be used to help in breaking digit and thumb sucking habits. Other treatment options for patients who are still growing include functional appliances and headgear appliances. Tooth size discrepancy
Identifying the presence of tooth size discrepancies between the maxillary and mandibular arches is an important component of correct orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. To establish appropriate alignment and occlusion, the size of upper and lower front teeth, or upper and lower teeth in general, needs to be proportional. Inter-arch tooth size discrepancy (ITSD) is defined as a disproportion in the mesio-distal dimensions of teeth of opposing dental arches. The prevalence is clinically significant among orthodontic patients and has been reported to range from 17% to 30%.Identifying inter-arch tooth size discrepancy (ITSD) before treatment begins allows the practitioner to develop the treatment plan in a way that will take ITSD into account. ITSD corrective treatment may entail demanding reduction (interproximal wear), increase (crowns and resins), or elimination (extractions) of dental mass prior to treatment finalization.Several methods have been used to determine ITSD. Of these methods the one most commonly used is the Bolton analysis.
In an experiment on two groups of rock hyraxes fed hardened or softened versions of the same foods, the animals fed softer food had significantly narrower and shorter faces and thinner and shorter mandibles than animals fed hard food.A 2016 review found that breastfeeding lowers the incidence of malocclusions developing later on in developing infants.During the transition to agriculture, the shape of the human mandible went through a series of changes. The mandible underwent a complex shape changes not matched by the teeth, leading to incongruity between the dental and mandibular form. These changes in human skulls may have been "driven by the decreasing bite forces required to chew the processed foods eaten once humans switched to growing different types of cereals, milking and herding animals about 10,000 years ago." Treatment
Orthodontic management of the condition includes dental braces, lingual braces, clear aligners or palatal expanders. Other treatments include the removal of one or more teeth and the repair of injured teeth. In some cases, surgery may be necessary. Treatment
Malocclusion is often treated with orthodontics, such as tooth extraction, clear aligners, or dental braces, followed by growth modification in children or jaw surgery (orthognathic surgery) in adults. Surgical intervention is used only in rare occasions. This may include surgical reshaping to lengthen or shorten the jaw. Wires, plates, or screws may be used to secure the jaw bone, in a manner like the surgical stabilization of jaw fractures. Very few people have "perfect" alignment of their teeth with most problems being minor that do not require treatment.