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What is occlusion or bite?

Occlusion is how your teeth come together when you close your jaw. Your occlusion is influenced by three primary components: (1) teeth, (2) nerves and muscles, and (3) bones. Another factor, which can affect the way your teeth come together, is your posture.

Take note of the fact that when you tilt your head back and bite, your teeth will hit differently than when you tilt your head forward. The same rule applies when you are lying down on your side. Your lower jaw will shift to one side. We now need to define ideal occlusion or bite. I'm going to attempt to explain this by describing some functional terms.
 
 


 
List some of the signs of possible occlusal or bite problems.
 
1. Heavy wear facets on the biting surface of the teeth.
2. Receding gum tissue
3. Erosion of the root surfaces
4. Cracked/fractured teeth
5. Front teeth do not touch
6. Pain in the joint and muscles
The three most important factors that affect a patient's occlusion:  
 
1. The minute relationship of the upper and lower teeth when they come together. This generally coincides with the most common definition of the patient's "bite", but also includes the specifics of which cusp on a specific tooth contacts which groove on the opposing tooth. It is also concerned with how the teeth contact during lateral excursions (The way that the upper and lower teeth contact during side to side movements of the lower jaw).

2. The exact relationship of the components of the temperomandibular joint (the TMJ).

3. The neuromuscular system: This involves the muscles of mastication which open and close the jaw, as well as the brain and the cranial nerves which give sensory and motor
enervation to the muscles. The muscles of mastication are discussed later in this piece.
The brain is important in the concept of occlusion because it is the source of both the
voluntary muscular activity which operates the system, as well as unconscious habits such as bruxing (grinding and clenching) which can lead to some of the most serious disease states of occlusion.