According to the American Association of Orthodontists, you should schedule a consultation with an orthodontist if you see these following signs:

• Difficulty chewing or biting
• Mouth breathing
• Sucking the thumb or fingers, or other oral habits
• Crowded, misplaced or blocked-out teeth
• Missing teeth
• Jaws that shift, make sounds, protrude or are recessed
• Biting the cheek or biting into the roof of the mouth
• Protruding teeth
• Teeth that meet in an abnormal way or don’t meet at all (open bite and deep bite)
• Facial imbalance or asymmetry (features out ofproportion to the rest of the face)
• Grinding or clenching of teeth
• Inability to comfortably close lips
• Impacted teeth

Examples of common bite problems

Deep Bite (Upper front teeth covering lower teeth)

Spacing (Spaces between teeth)

Crowding (Not enough space to align teeth)

Increased Overjet (Upper front teeth too far too the front)

Open Bite (Upper Teeth Do Not Bite with the Lower Teeth)

Missing Lateral Incisor

Anterior Crossbite or Underbite (Lower teeth bite over upper teeth)

Mouthbreathing
 

Gingival Recession (Gum level start to recede)