Over or Under Bites

Dear Patients,

“Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a sturdy horse pulling the wagon.” – Winston Churchill

I have had the privilege of knowing some of the most elite educators in the world. I count my friends, Dr. Skip Truitt, Dr. John Witzig, Dr. Terry Spahl, and Dr. Derek Mahoney as the most brilliant clinicians this world has ever known. These pioneers in maxillo-facial orthopedics and orthodontics pushed the envelope years ago, and questioned the establishment over their traditional treatment protocol which involved camouflage orthodontics. These astute clinicians postulated that the maxilla (upper jaw) and the mandible (lower jaw) were capable of regional adaptive growth well past puberty. Recently, the bible of facial growth and development “Essentials of Facial Growth” 2nd editions by Hans and Enlow questioned this improper approach to treating an overbite.

From their text, “This is one of several reasons that orthodontic procedures in the past often attacked the maxillary dentition, even though a given malocclusion was based on the positioning of the mandible. This produced an “imbalance” in the maxilla to offset the effect of an existing skeletal situation in the mandible (basicranium). Although this approach established a class I occlusion the resulting facial appearance was often less then optimal. Because of this, more modern approaches to orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning attempt to position the upper incisors in an esthetically pleasing position within the face rather than adapting upper incisor positions to an underlying skeletal imbalance.”

In our office we practice modern orthodontic principles. If you or someone you love has questions about their overbite or under bite, please contact our office for a complimentary consultation.

Sincerely,

Michael W. Dagostino, DDS

Comments are closed.