In the olden days, when you suffered from overgrown or crooked teeth, you simply had to deal with your plight. Nowadays, though, we have so much technology available to us and so many advances have been made in modern science that there are dental procedures designed to address virtually any type of dental issues that you’re dealing with. No matter whether you have crooked teeth, an overbite, an underbite or any other type of dental condition, dental professionals can help you achieve the perfect smile that you’ve always dreamed of through a variety of procedures and with the help of the appropriate dental tools and resources.
What Causes Crooked Teeth?
There are numerous potential causes for why an individual’s teeth may be crooked. In many cases, the cause of crooked teeth can be attributed to people’s mouths being too small for their teeth to grow in properly. Therefore, the teeth end up growing in crooked since there isn’t sufficient space for them in the first place. In other cases, teeth might grow in crooked because the individual’s upper and lower jaws aren’t the same size or are inappropriately formed, both of which can cause teeth to protrude beyond the other teeth when they grow in. Oftentimes, these conditions that cause crooked teeth are genetic and cannot be prevented, although nowadays they can certainly be fixed with the appropriate type of dental procedure.
Problems Caused by Crooked Teeth
Not only do crooked teeth keep you from having an aesthetically-pleasing smile that makes you feel confident and beautiful, but they also pose numerous dental issues. For instance, crooked teeth can cause problems with chewing, brushing and cleaning the teeth in general and straining the teeth. Additionally, they can increase the likelihood of developing tooth decay, cavities and gingivitis, and they can also increase the risk of chipping, cracking or breaking the tooth if the crooked teeth is sticking out from among the other teeth and is exposed to more possible strain.
How to Know When You Have Crooked Teeth
Obviously, if you have noticeably crooked teeth in your mouth, you will be aware that you have crooked teeth. However, in some instances, your crooked teeth might not be physically noticeable yet. If you experience discomfort when you’re chewing or speaking or have speech difficulties such as a lisp, you could have crooked teeth issues somewhere in your mouth, or they could at least be on the verge of forming. A dentist can check your mouth for crooked teeth by taking X-rays and studying the alignment of your teeth and bites.
Treatment for Crooked Teeth
There are a variety of ways to treat crooked teeth, but the treatment method that is best for you depends upon your specific situation. For instance, in some minor cases, simply wearing a removable retainer for a certain amount of time is all that is needed to coax a crooked tooth back into its proper position. However, in some more severe cases, removal of the crooked tooth or other teeth could be needed in order to rid the mouth of the overcrowding issue if you happen to possess too many teeth and don’t have sufficient room in your mouth to accommodate all of them. Still, in many other cases, braces are oftentimes what is necessary to correct the problem, and the amount of time that you’ll have to wear the braces as well as the type of braces that you’ll have to wear is influenced greatly by your specific dental circumstances. For instance, whereas some individuals might be able to wear clear braces on the set of teeth that have the crooked tooth, others might have to wear traditional metal ones that have rubber bands in the back that connect their upper set of braces to their lower sets in order to correct an overbite. In some rare cases, an operation might be necessary to fix crooked teeth, but this is usually only if there are numerous crooked teeth that are protruding severely from the mouth and even poke out through the lips.
References:
American Dental Association.”Braces. ” Retrieved on April 18, 2016, from http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/b/braces.
Medicine Net. “Crooked teeth and misaligned bites.” Retrieved on April 18, 2016, from http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=43113.
American Dental Association
211 East Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611-2678
312-440-2500
www.ada.org
Medicine Net
903 Calle Amanecer
Suite 300
San Clemente, CA 92673
949-940-6500
www.medicinenet.com
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