Bite problems, also referred to as "maloclusions", as your Denver Orthodontist will educate you, are caused by the "misalignment of teeth and/or incorrect relation between the teeth of the two dental arches." (www.wikipedia.org) Unfortunately, there are several types of bite problems which have been classified in three different types:

• "Class I: Here the molar relationship of the occlusion is normal or as described for the maxillary first molar, but the other teeth have problems like spacing, crowding, over or under eruption, etc.
• Class II: (retrognathism, overjet) In this situation, the upper molars are placed not in the mesiobuccal groove but anteriorly to it. Usually the mesiobuccal cusp rests in between the first mandibular molars and second premolars. There are two subtypes:
• Class II, Division 1: The molar relationships are like that of Class II and the anterior teeth are protruded.
• Class II, Division 2: The molar relationships are class II but the central are retroclined and the lateral teeth are seen overlapping the centrals.
• Class III: (prognathism,negative overjet) is when the lower front teeth are more prominent than the upper front teeth. In this case the patient very often has a large mandible or a short maxillary bone." (www.wikipedia.org)

Other bite correction problems involve vertical discrepancies such as open and deep bites - long and short face, respectively.

A Denver Orthodontist trained in the Roth-Williams approach will able to correct all of these conditions and provide you with the smile and proper facial alignment you have been dreaming of.

Problems with teeth spacing, or "diastema", are caused by "a mismatch between the size of the jaw bones and the size of the teeth can cause either extra space between teeth.If the teeth are too small for the jaw bone, spaces between the teeth will occur.Sometimes some teeth are missing or undersized. This happens most often with the upper lateral incisors (the teeth next to the two upper front teeth). also can be caused by an oversized labial frenum. The labial frenum is the piece of tissue that normally extends from the inside of your upper lip to the gum just above your two upper front teeth. In some situations, the labial frenum continues to grow and passes between the two front teeth. If this happens, it blocks the natural closing of the space between these teeth." (www.simplestepsdental.com)

Retrognathism occurs when "an abnormal posterior positioning of the maxilla or mandible, particularly the mandible, relative to the facial skeleton and soft tissues." (www.righthealth.com) The two subdivisions of this class involve the placement of the molars on the jaw.

It is easy for a regular Denver Orthodontist to misdiagnose retrognathism as an overbite. A Roth-Williams trained Denver Orthodontist will be able to provide you with the correct diagnosis due to the fact that such approach takes into consideration the physiological conditions surrounding the dental problem.

Negative overjet is also called as prognathism and under-bite. "Patients with under-bites have a strong jaw with a prominent chin. The lower front teeth are positioned in front of the uppe front teeth. This condition is caused by the horizontal under-development of the upper jaw, the horizontal over-development of the lower jaw, or most frequently a combination of both." (www.theorthopractice.com)

A clear indication to a Denver Orthodontist that you have an open bite is when your front teeth - both upper and lower, are pushed outwards "to an extent that the teeth of the upper and the lower jaw do not touch each other, even when the mouth is closed." (www.drashouri.com) In a child this is due to the fact that the jaw is still in its developmental stages - soft and pliable.

If it is your child with the dental problem expect your Denver Orthodontist to ask you whether your child has habits such as "thumb sucking, tongue thrusting and chewing on a pencil or some similar object .prolonged and incorrect use of feeding bottles and pacifiers" (www.drahouri.com) which, over time, may be contributing factors which cause this dental problem.

"A deep bite refers to when there is excessive overlap between the upper and lower front teeth." (www.drng-braces.com) This type of maloccusion may cause "excessive wear of the front teeth and can damage the gum behind the upper front teeth. Deep bites can exert excessive strain on the jaw joint resulting in tempero-mandibular joint problems." (www.aso.org.au.com), which is yet another area of expertise for a Denver Orthodontist who has graduated from the Roth -Williams Center.

The purpose of the Roth/Williams Center, located in California, is to train orthodontists through a two year program, to correct all known dental occlusion problems. Dr. Roth realized, as is still ongoing, that there was a lacking in orthodontics' educational curriculums which failed to include "functional occlusion as part of orthodontic treatment philosophy. Recognizing this void in orthodontics was an inspiration for Dr. Roth to add physiologic concepts into orthodontic ideology." (www.rwiso.org)

Currently, a Denver Orthodontist wishing to obtain this type of specialized training may do so in satellite centers located in Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Spain, S. Korea, as well as their first center in California.