Malocclusion is the abnormal positioning of the teeth or jaws. It is a variation of growth and development and can affect a person's bite (occlusion), ability to clean teeth properly, gingival health, jaw growth, speech development, and appearance. The shape and size of the face, jaws, and teeth are mainly inherited, but environmental factors can also have an impact Factors as diverse as skeletal muscle pathology and sucking a digit (thumb or finger) can substantially influence the growth of the face and dentition. Treatment of disorders such as crowded or protruding teeth may improve both aesthetics and oral function. In addition, prominent teeth can be damaged easily during childhood. The dental specialty most concerned with problems of facial growth, development of occlusion, and the prevention and correction of associated anomalies is orthodontics. The improvement of occlusion and aesthetics using restorative dental techniques is discussed in the next article.
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