Can Orofacial Structures Affect Tooth Morphology?

Abstract

This chapter presents how orofacial muscles can affect teeth positioning, occlusion, and also the size/shape of teeth. Pressures exerted on teeth will be discussed in specific cases such as mouth breathing, chronic mastication disorders, oral habits, like thumb sucking or tongue thrust, and also when there is hyper-function of masticatory muscles during sleep or wakefulness. In these situations, the imbalance of muscle forces brings undesirable consequences to the dentition. Each condition will be explained, showing which muscle is affected, how it changes, and what consequences to the teeth it brings. It is a chapter that shows how close the relationship is between dentistry and speech language pathology (orofacial myology).