Thank you for your question. A posterior crossbite occurs when the back teeth are misaligned in the transverse dimension. A posterior crossbite can be localised to just the teeth or it may involve the jaw bone housing the teeth.
Whether a posterior crossbite can be corrected without undergoing surgery will depend on a few factors.
Namely:
- the age of the patient
- the severity of the crossbite
- the number of pairs of teeth in crossbite and
- the underlying jaw bone discrepancy.
If a posterior crossbite is limited to 1 pair of teeth and there is no underlying jaw bone discrepancy, this can usually be resolved with braces treatment. If the posterior crossbite is associated with a narrow upper jaw, and the patient is young, it is possible to expand the upper jaw with braces treatment to correct the posterior crossbite.
However if the posterior crossbite is associated with a jaw bone discrepancy, such as an asymmetry of the lower jaw. This sort of posterior crossbite is often associated with more than 1 pair of teeth in crossbite and it would not be possible or advisable to shift the teeth when the bone housing the teeth is the source of the problem. There are several presentations of posterior crossbites and it would be important to determine the type and treat the cause.
Hope this helps.
Warm regards,
Dr Priscilla Lu
Orthodontist
