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Glossary

Reverse occlusion

Alternate terms: Crossbite.

Posterior crossbite- A condition in which the upper back teeth are positioned palatally (toward the roof of the mouth) relative to the lower back teeth, such that when the patient bites together, the lower back teeth rest outside the outer (buccal) cusps of the upper teeth (i.e. the lowers are positioned closer to the cheeks). The condition may be genetic, but is frequently developmental, and may be caused by common oral habits of childhood, like thumb sucking.
Learn more: Diagnoses › Oral habits of children

Reverse occlusion or crossbite and incisor protrusion are common complications of thumb sucking.

Figure 1: Arrows show where the molar cusps are in reverse occlusion or crossbite on this patient, whose dentition also exhibits moderate crowding and incisor protrusion.

Anterior crossbite- A condition in which the upper front teeth are positioned palatally (toward the roof of the mouth) relative to the lower front teeth, such that when the patient bites together, the lower front teeth rest outside (labial) of the upper front teeth. The condition is most often genetic, the result of a dental or skeletal malocclusion.
Learn more: Diagnoses › Malocclusion