Elizabeth B. Spannhake, DDS, MPh, MS

Orthodontist and Dentofacial Orthopedist

Dr. Elizabeth B. Spannhake is an Orthodontist and Dentofacial Orthopedist in Westminster, MD with special training and skill in the diagnosis, prevention, interception, and correction of malocclusion and other abnormalities of the developing or mature orofacial structures. As an Orthodontist and Dentofacial Orthopedist, Elizabeth B. Spannhake, DDS, MPh, MS performs provides procedures to fix conditions such as dental overbites, underbites, and crowded or misaligned teeth by slowly applying pressure on specific teeth to coax them into place without surgery. Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics is a specialty within the dental profession that detects tooth positioning issues and corrects them. Significant diseases and conditions treated by Orthodontist and Dentofacial Orthopedists include malocclusions, underbites, overbites, oral cavity anomalies. Medical tests, procedures and therapies provided by Orthodontist and Dentofacial Orthopedists include designing and fabricating appliances to realign teeth and jaws to produce and maintain normal function and to improve appearance.

That area of dentistry concerned with the supervision, guidance and correction of the growing or mature dentofacial structures, including those conditions that require movement of teeth or correction of malrelationships and malformations of their related structures and the adjustment of relationships between and among teeth and facial bones by the application of forces and/or the stimulation and redirection of functional forces within the craniofacial complex. Major responsibilities of orthodontic practice include the diagnosis, prevention, interception and treatment of all forms of malocclusion of the teeth and associated alterations in their surrounding structures; the design, application and control of functional and corrective appliances; and the guidance of the dentition and its supporting structures to attain and maintain optimum occlusal relations in physiologic and esthetic harmony among facial and cranial structures.