malocclusion

/ˈmæləˌkluʒən/

Other forms: malocclusions

If your dentist tells you that you've got a malocclusion, she means that your top and bottom teeth don't fit together quite the way they should.

Edward Angle, the American dentist known as the "father of orthodontics" popularized the word malocclusion around 1864, using it to describe a misaligned bite. A malocclusion is one of the reasons people get braces, with the goal of bringing the upper and lower teeth into alignment. The word is formed by adding the prefix mal-, or "bad," to occlusion, "position of the teeth when the mouth is closed," and its root meaning "to close."

Definitions of malocclusion

1. noun

   (dentistry) a condition in which the opposing teeth do not mesh normally
   types:

   overbite

   (dentistry) malocclusion in which the upper teeth extend abnormally far over the lower teeth

   type of:

   disorder, upset

   a physical condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning