Bite Adjustment

I have moved to yet another new aligner, leading to more of a bite adjustment. My space is getting smaller, so that people who know about it are noticing the difference. Still, if I do not have my aligner in place, the space is quite noticeable and embarrassing.

Orthodontics can help set up a strong, stable bite, but it is a coarse adjustment. The fine adjustment needs to be done on the teeth themselves. This is called equilibration. It is done to eliminate any interfering factors that will cause the jaw muscles to move the joints in a harmful way.

Equilibration is the most overlooked aspect of orthodontic treatment. Most people assume that since the teeth look straight, they will function well. A bite adjustment usually needs to be done to make sure this is the case. Think of it this way. Most precision instruments have at least two levels of adjustment. You use the bigger adjustment to get almost to the right level, then the fine adjustment is used to hit the target. Your teeth are a part of a system that includes the muscles and joints. They all have to work together in order to function without putting stress on the system. In humans stress on this system can result in pain, excessive tooth wear and/or breakage, loose teeth, popping or clicking in the joints and muscle tenderness or pain.

If the equilibration is not done, the teeth may rub together in ways that put too much stress on the system. Either the teeth will start to break down, or symptoms will develop in other parts of the system such as the muscles or joints. The benefit of having your bite balanced will greatly increase the chances of the teeth remaining in a stable position for a long, long time. If it is not done, the changes may happen so slowly that the patient has not noticed the problem until it is quite advanced. It's like the tide coming in slowly while sleeping on the beach--the bite changes can catch one off guard.

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