Dental occlusion refers to the contact between teeth when the jaws are either closed or moved. Thus, this term refers to the relationship between the upper and lower teeth when they approach each other. Problems regarding this dental occlusion may lead to extreme discomfort while closing the mouth or chewing, crooked teeth, gum problems, and muscle spasms. As dental occlusion is related to the position of teeth while closing and opening the mouth, this also has a significant relationship with a person’s respiratory.

How to treat dental occlusion

Dental occlusion or position of teeth and gum when the mouth is closed or used may change due to various risk factors. Since untreated problems of dental occlusion may develop into severe difficulty of chewing or even talking, they should never be ignored, and as these problems may reside in a variety of causal factors, it is very important to first determine these risk factors in order to make sure the performed treatments are suitable.
Some potential problems of dental occlusion and proper treatments include:

Tooth extraction

Dental occlusion problems are commonly triggered by teeth movement, and tooth extraction is one of the most common risk factors of teeth movement. Affected teeth may not be able to restore their normal position. In severe cases, teeth removed from a complete arch of teeth may without sufficient restoration process may lead to collapsed occlusion. When occlusion collapses, it is very hard to be restored and may affect proper chewing and teeth position.

To treat this kind of occlusion, it is very important that a missing tooth that is extracted completely from the tooth arch is replaced, so that the natural form of the occlusion can be maintained.

Tear of teeth due to differences in wear characteristics of restorative materials

Some restorative materials used for replacing extracted teeth and filling in tooth crowns may rapidly wear opposing teeth, causing teeth movement that also affects the dental occlusion. These abrasive materials, such as ceramics, instead of resins, for instance, cause abrasions of the teeth gradually.
To treat dental occlusion problem caused by wear characteristic of the restorative materials, it is important that the dentists use only materials that have closest characteristics to the tooth natural enamel in order to minimize the caused abrasions.

Parafunction of the teeth

Dental related bad habits, such as clenching and bruxism might also lead to dental occlusion problems. These habits involve strong movements of teeth, which is often done unconsciously, during sleeping, for instance. As a result of severe and frequent clenching and bruxism habits, the occlusion might collapse, the teeth may move, their canine may either rise or decrease.

To prevent dental occlusion due to clenching or bruxism habits, the sufferers can wear tooth protection while sleeping. This is important as this medium will inhibit direct abrasive effects of their habits on the opposing upper and lower teeth. Moreover, clenching and bruxism are two dental habits that can be induced by high level of stress, so that maintaining this stress level is essential to stop this unconscious habits.

Periodontal diseases

Periodontal diseases—problems between the teeth and gum may decrease the gum support to the teeth, they can cause the teeth to be mobile. Periodontal diseases that affect the gum may also cause collapsed gum and tooth decay.
Thus, early diagnosis of these dental diseases is really essential in preventing them from affecting the natural dental occlusion that may lead to bigger dental problems and difficulties of chewing and closing the mouth properly. Initial treatments for the affected gum and teeth also become very essential.

Complications risks of dental occlusion problems

Occlusion problems may lead to miss-positioned jaws, which can trigger them to work much harder and thus, lead to fatigue and muscle spasms. If this problem is mistreated or worse, untreated, it may lead to headaches and migraine, eye pain, sinus pain, or pain in the neck and back. Improper dental occlusion also leads to difficulty of breathing while sleeping, as it inhibits proper air circulation. Hence, initia treatments become really important for these problems, as early tooth adjustment, dental splints, or temporary medications can inhibit the developments of various dental occlusion problems before causing much worse effects to the periodontal areas.