Cross bite

What it means

Lingual occlusion of buccal cusps and/or incisal edge of maxillary teeth to the buccal cusps and/or incisal edge of mandibular teeth.

Cross bite may occur unilaterally, bilaterally, or frontally. A total cross bite with buccal displacement of the maxillary posterior teeth, with or without contact between the lingual surface of the maxillary lingual cusp and the buccal surface of the buccal cusp of its mandibular antagonist, has been called scissor bite. If only a single tooth is affected, the term single cross bite can be used.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category