Mesial Drift

Mesial drift is the natural tendency of teeth to drift towards the front, i.e., towards the lips. Our teeth tend to move forwards. You can observe this phenomenon when you loose a tooth. The tooth gap normaly close by itself after years, depending on the age of the patient. Therefore we can conclude that the position of teeth is not fixed. The movement of teeth is the result of tensional forces exercised by cheeks, lips, tongue and mesial drift. This changes the bite plane, i.e., it sinks, meaning that the support of the lower jaw no longer takes place on the surfaces of the teeth, but primarily in the jaw joint. This altered bite situation can lead to rebuilding processes in the jaw joint area --more on that in the video "Bite Plane." Furthermore, dental tipping will continue to damage the periodontal apparatus. That's why it's important to close gaps in the teeth. The mesial drift is the reason why teeth have to be put on location with, e.g. a retainer after a braces therapy. www.checkdent.com