Orthodontics is the science of moving living teeth in living tissue – bringing irregular, improperly placed teeth back into positions intended by nature. It is commonly called “straightening teeth.”
There are many causes for misplaced teeth (malocclusion). A child may inherit form one parent a jaw too small to accommodate the large teeth inherited from the other parent. The teeth may then become crowded or overlap. Other malocclusions may be due to early loss of a baby tooth, thumb sucking that continues after infancy, lip and tongue habits, birth injuries and accidents.