The main patterns
| Type | What it looks like | Main functional concern |
|---|---|---|
| Crowding | Overlapping, rotated teeth | Uncleanable contacts, decay and gum inflammation |
| Deep bite | Upper front teeth cover the lower excessively | Lower incisor wear, gum trauma |
| Underbite | Lower teeth sit ahead of upper | Chewing inefficiency, jaw strain |
| Crossbite | One or more teeth bite inside the opposing arch | Asymmetric jaw function, localised wear |
| Open bite | Front teeth do not meet when back teeth close | Cannot incise food, speech effects |
| Spacing | Gaps between teeth | Food impaction, aesthetic concern |
Why this is a health matter and not only cosmetic
Occlusion is a load distribution problem. A well-aligned arch spreads chewing force across many teeth. A malocclusion concentrates it on a few, and those few show the consequences: flattened cusps, cracks, gum recession on the overloaded side, and eventually fracture. Add crowded contacts that neither brush nor floss can reach, and you have the two main drivers of tooth loss — decay and periodontal disease — operating in the same mouth for structural reasons rather than behavioural ones.
What causes it
- Inherited jaw and tooth size mismatch — the largest single factor, and the reason malocclusion runs in families.
- Early loss of primary teeth allowing neighbours to close the space needed by the permanent tooth.
- Prolonged thumb sucking or tongue thrust — a common cause of anterior open bite.
- Mouth breathing, often from chronic nasal obstruction, which alters facial and arch development.
- Extra or congenitally missing teeth.
- Unreplaced missing teeth in adults — remaining teeth tip and drift into the gap, and the opposing tooth over-erupts.
Timing: what genuinely benefits from early treatment
- Around ages 7–9 — a first assessment. Crossbites, severe crowding, and skeletal discrepancies can be influenced while the jaws are still growing, and some later surgery is avoided at this stage.
- Ages 11–14 — the conventional comprehensive phase, once most permanent teeth are present.
- Adulthood — tooth alignment is entirely achievable at any age, and clear aligner treatment has made adult treatment far more acceptable socially. What changes with age is that jaw position itself can no longer be influenced by growth, so significant skeletal discrepancies require a surgical option rather than appliances alone.
Two expectations worth setting honestly. First, retention is permanent, not optional — teeth drift for life, and every case that relapses is a case where retainer wear stopped. Second, alignment must be planned around existing dental health: active gum disease should be controlled before orthodontic force is applied to teeth with reduced bone support, otherwise the treatment accelerates the very problem it was meant to help. Fees for aligner and retainer treatment are on our English price list.
Notes for patients based in Korea
Orthodontics is a long commitment, which makes it awkward for people on fixed-length postings. If you have eighteen months or less in Korea, discuss that timeline explicitly at the consultation — a plan can often be staged so that a clear transfer point exists, and aligner treatment in particular travels reasonably well with adequate records. Ask for the digital scan files, the treatment plan, and radiographs in a portable format before you leave. We are around 30 minutes from Camp Humphreys with English-language consultation and written treatment plans. Book an orthodontic consultation.