Malocclusion is the dental word for teeth or a bite that do not quite line up the usual way.

In kid words

"Malocclusion just means your teeth don't quite line up the way they're supposed to, and tons of kids' teeth do that too." Say it in the same easy tone you'd use for any other checkup word, because there is nothing scary in it. Your pediatric dentist keeps an eye on how your teeth are lining up at every visit, so it is never something you need to figure out on your own.

The parent version

Malocclusion is the general dental term for a bite where the upper and lower teeth, or the jaws themselves, do not meet in the typical way when the mouth closes. It is an umbrella word covering a wide range of things, from crowded or spaced teeth to the way the back teeth line up, and it is extremely common rather than rare.

Mainstream dental sources describe most malocclusion as a normal variation of a growing mouth rather than a problem on its own, though the degree and shape of it differs for every child. It is not something to sort out from across the room. For most families it is simply worth a mention at a checkup. To find out what it looks like for your child specifically, ask your pediatric dentist.

Where you might hear it at our office

Malocclusion is part of what your pediatric dentist watches for at routine visits, since how your child's teeth and jaws line up gets a look alongside their teeth and gums at every checkup. When a developing bite seems worth a closer look, that conversation belongs with our orthodontics team, where Dr. Whitesides provides comprehensive orthodontic care at our Fort Myers office. The American Association of Orthodontists notes that an evaluation can make sense as young as 7 or 8 when growth calls for it, though the right timing is always worked out with your pediatric dentist.

Any other word your child brings home from a visit is worth asking about too, and more of them are waiting in our Kids' Dental Dictionary.

Related words

Words that often come up alongside malocclusion: bite, overbite, underbite, and crossbite.