Molars don't line up anymore

[teechr2b]

Hello All,

I'm nearing the end of my treatment but I'm concerned about my bite. Before I got braces my molars came together perfectly, but now it's as if my bottom molars are much further in toward my tongue than the top molars. Because of this my bite doesn't come together properly at all. I can feel that my bottom molars are about half a tooth's width inside of the top molar that is supposed to come straight down on top of it. I feel like I need an expander or something to push the bottom molars outward so they can line up with the top ones again! I've mentioned this to my ortho and he seems more concerned with the fact that my front teeth aren't coming together right (which is a result of my molars being messed up!) I just got elastics today and boy do they hurt. I have to wear them in a triangle shape. Will this help the molars or not? Should I call the ortho back? Thanks!

[ArchWired28]

So you mean that your lower molars are too inclined towards your tongue? Are you wearing your triangle elastics on the molars? I think they are supposed to bring your top molar down a bit and maybe that will help to better align them. Elastics do hurt at first so that is normal. Maybe wait a little and see what it does. If this does not resolve your problem, you can always mention it next time. That is what I do Good luck to you!

[teechr2b]

So you mean that your lower molars are too inclined towards your tongue? Are you wearing your triangle elastics on the molars? I think they are supposed to bring your top molar down a bit and maybe that will help to better align them. Elastics do hurt at first so that is normal. Maybe wait a little and see what it does. If this does not resolve your problem, you can always mention it next time. That is what I do Good luck to you!

Archwired 28- Thanks for your reply! I definitely will bring up the problem if it isn't better next time.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "inclined towards your tongue." They aren't tilted or anything, it's as if the top U is actually wider than the bottom U, if that makes sense. The bottom molars feel almost inside of the top molars, when they used to come straight down on top of each other.

[Van'braces]

Sounds like your molar bite is good to me. Your molars shouldn't come down exactly on top of each other, the uppers should be slightly outside of the lower, ie the cusp and grooves of upper and lower molars should align. Extract below is straight from Wiki' if you want the dental terminology; "the mesiobuccal cusp of the upper first molar should align with the buccal groove of the mandibular first molar. The teeth should all fit on a line of occlusion which is a smooth curve through the central fossae and cingulum of the upper canines, and through the buccal cusp and incisal edges of the mandible"

[teechr2b]

Sounds like your molar bite is good to me. Your molars shouldn't come down exactly on top of each other, the uppers should be slightly outside of the lower, ie the cusp and grooves of upper and lower molars should align. Extract below is straight from Wiki' if you want the dental terminology; "the mesiobuccal cusp of the upper first molar should align with the buccal groove of the mandibular first molar. The teeth should all fit on a line of occlusion which is a smooth curve through the central fossae and cingulum of the upper canines, and through the buccal cusp and incisal edges of the mandible"

Van thanks for this info, however I assure you they are not as they should be right now. I know that they should be SLIGHTLY off center but my uppers are at least half a tooth's width outside of the lower molars. They don't close together at all like they should and like they used to and this causes my front teeth to almost not come in contact with each other instead of overlapping like they are supposed to. It's hard to describe through writing but it's definitely not right and I guess I will have to wait until my next appointment to mention it again.

[ArchWired28]

I think there's really only one correct way the molars come together - that is, when their grooves interlock with the top molars being about half a tooth outside of the lower molars. Everything else would be considered a crossbite. Crossbite is a serious malocclusion and I don't think your ortho would have ignored it. Are your molars tilted forward? If they are, that may cause your front teeth to tilt forward too and not close properly. Other than that, I have no idea what is could be. I hope your ortho resolves it though!