What Causes Crooked Teeth and How to Treat Them

Facial injury. A hit to the face or mouth can knock teeth out of place, resulting in one or more crooked teeth.

Poor nutrition. It can lead to tooth decay and poor dental development, which are potential precursors to crooked teeth.

Poor dental care. Not having your teeth checked at least annually by a dentist can sometimes mean that problems, such as gum disease and

cavities, go untreated. This can lead to crooked teeth and other dental health problems.

Genetics and heredity. If one or both of your parents had crowded or crooked teeth, it’s possible that you will, too. You may also inherit an overbite or underbite from your parents.

Poor dental habits during childhood. These are also called Myofunctional habits. These are repetitive behaviors that affect the muscles or functions of the mouth or face such as lip sucking, thumb sucking, excessive use of a pacifier and chewing objects.

Premature loss of baby teeth. Both baby teeth and permanent teeth can come in crooked, or they can become crooked. Baby teeth sometimes move into crooked positions because they’re too small to fill the amount of gum space allocated to them.

Crooked teeth have various effects on your general health, as well. For example, misaligned teeth may affect your ability to chew, causing you pain every time you eat.

Other health issues that crooked teeth may cause include:

1. Gum Disease. Crooked teeth give an opportunity to bacteria to proliferate and form a plaque in areas where the gums don’t fit securely around your teeth. This leads to periodontal disease that can even lead to tooth loss.
2. It makes cleaning your teeth difficult. It is a challenge to clean crooked teeth. The bristles of the toothbrush and floss do not reach the areas between crooked teeth. The bacteria in these areas survive the cleaning process and thrives in the environment making it conducive for itself and thus causing a lot of dental complications.
3. Excess wear. Crooked teeth can also cause excessive wear and tear on the teeth, gums, and jaw muscles, resulting in cracked teeth, jaw strain, temporomandibular joint disorder, and chronic headaches.
4. Difficulty in chewing. Protruding upper and lower teeth may hamper the normal jaw alignment thus making it difficult to chew. The teeth may rub against each other that can lead to problems related to inadequate digestion and poor absorption of nutrients.
5. It causes bad breath. Bad breath is due to the bacteria which lingers on in the cracks between crooked teeth.
6. Speech difficulties. If your teeth are misaligned, they can affect the way you articulate sound, causing problems with speech.

Teeth straightening is the best and only solution. It is an orthodontic treatment that includes a wide range of techniques for straightening and realigning crooked teeth. It also corrects dental issues so that you steer clear of tooth decay and end up with healthier teeth and gums.  So, if you’ve decided that straightening your teeth is the right choice for you, here are several alternatives you can discuss with a dentist or orthodontist.

• Metal Braces/Straps
• Ceramic Braces
• Invisible Braces
• Lingual Braces

Orthodontic treatment times can vary but usually fall within the range of six months to three years. After initial treatment, no matter which type of appliance was used, it is crucial to wear retainers as directed. Retainers help hold your teeth in their new positions and prevent them from moving back into their old arrangement. After all, you wouldn’t want your effort and investment in a beautiful smile to be wasted.

Straightened teeth have other benefits besides making your smile look great. Better tooth alignment can also prevent individual teeth from being subjected to more than their share of biting force, which could cause them to wear unevenly or be moved out of alignment. A well-aligned bite will distribute these forces evenly, and may even prevent jaw pain and headaches in the process.

Whatever your reasons for fixing crooked teeth, you will no doubt be glad you did!