Orthodontics, orthodontia, or orthodonture (from Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 orthos "straight or proper or perfect"; and odous "tooth") is the first specialty

Specialty (dentistry)

In the United States, Canada, and Australia, there are nine recognized dental specialties in which some dentists choose to train and practice, in addition to or instead of general dentistry....

 of dentistry that is concerned with the study and treatment of malocclusion

Malocclusion

A malocclusion is a misalignment of teeth or incorrect relation between the teeth of the two dental arches. The term was coined by Edward Angle, the "father of modern orthodontics", as a derivative of occlusion, which refers to the manner in which opposing teeth meet.-Presentation:Most people have...

s (improper bites), which may be a result of tooth

Tooth

Teeth are small, calcified, whitish structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates that are used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or for defensive purposes. The roots of teeth are embedded in the Mandible bone or the Maxillary bone and are...

 irregularity, disproportionate jaw

Jaw

The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...

 relationships, or both. Orthodontic treatment can focus on dental displacement only, or can deal with the control and modification of facial growth.