Q: What is occlusion?
A: Occlusion, pronounced o-CLUE-zhon, is the term used to describe bite, the way your teeth meet when your jaws close. Good occlusion is essential to chewing. In proper occlusion, your upper front teeth should slightly overlap the lowers and the biting edges of the lowers should lightly touch the back surfaces of the uppers. Your back teeth, the molars and premolars, should meet evenly. The chewing surfaces of the lower teeth should be just inside the uppers, to that the cusps-the points on a tooth-match with the teeth's central grooves. Also, the lower molars and premolars should be just a little forward of the corresponding upper teeth.
Any form of faulty occlusion is called malocclusion. Some bite problems can be addressed with orthodontic treatment. Your dentist will most likely need to make a plaster model of your teeth. Your dentist will make the model from impressions created by pressing a U-shaped tray filled with a soft paste over the teeth of your upper and lower jaw. From those impressions, a plan can be made to correct the bite.
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