DENTISTRY
Figure 3A. A cat's mandibular distocluson and asymmetry.
Figures 2A and 2B. Normal but painful nonfunctional rostral occlusion
in a boxer. Note the maxillary incisors penetrating the mandible.
in abnormal jaw alignment that causes the teeth to be
out of normal orientation. Dental malposition occurs
when jaw alignment is normal but one or more teeth
are out of normal orientation. When dental malposition
or skeletal malocclusion causes trauma to other teeth or
oral soft tissues, the condition is termed poorly functional
ornonfunctional and treatment is indicated.
Therapy options include moving or removing the offending
or offended tooth or teeth, or surgically creating additional
space for the malpositioned tooth to occupy without
causing trauma.
Figure 3B. A dog's mandibular distocluson.
Mandibular mesioclusion
(also called underbite, undershot, reverse scissor
bite, prognathism, and class 3) occurs when the
lower teeth protrude in front of the upper teeth. If
the upper and lower incisor teeth meet each other
edge to edge, the occlusion is an even or a level
bite (Figure 4).
Skeletal malocclusion
Here are some of the common terms associated with
abnormal jaw alignment:
Mandibular distoclusion
(also called overbite, overjet, overshot, class 2, and
mandibular brachygnathism) occurs when the lower
jaw is shorter that the upper and there’s a space
between the upper and lower incisors when the
mouth is closed. The upper premolars will be displaced
rostrally (toward the nose) compared with the lower
premolars. Mandibular distoclusion is never normal in
any breed (Figures 3A and 3B).
Figure 4. Mandibular mesioclusion in a dog.
Issue 04 | AUGUST 2017 | 11