Crooked Teeth – Solutions, Procedures, Risks

Excerpt: Crooked teeth are generally something people are born with.

Posted on: April 11, 2022

Crooked Teeth

Crooked Teeth can happen because of malocclusion and developmental dysplasia of the dentition. Malocclusion means that there is an issue between the way your teeth come together; this could be anything from slight spacing to deep overbite or underbite. Developmental dysplasia of dentition is when the enamel on a tooth doesn't form correctly.

Crooked teeth are generally something people are born with. Your teeth can get more crooked as you age, and you get oral trauma, or severe decay.

What Causes Crooked Teeth?

The most common causes of crooked teeth include:

Genetics
Aging
Trauma
Severe decay

If the person had crooked baby teeth, that does not mean that their permanent teeth will also be crooked. However, certain habits as an infant can have an effect on how crooked teeth are, such as sucking on thumbs or pacifiers.

Why Are My Teeth Crooked?

There are other factors that can affect crooked teeth, these include:

Jaw Size

You can be born with a jaw that is not shaped perfectly to the number of teeth that you have. This is mainly because our modern diet has changed significantly since our prehistoric diet, and the human mouth has not had time to adjust to this change. If your jaw is too small, it could lead to overcrowding, impacted, as well as crooked teeth. Your dentist, through the use of x-rays and exams, may have a better idea if you will experience any size-related issues.

Myofunctional Habits

Certain myofunctional habits can have a potential impact on your teeth alignment, this will not happen overnight however, it usually takes a while for these habits to have negative results:

Thumb sucking
Pacifier or bottle use
Tongue thrusting
Mouth breathing

Genetics

Genetics will play one of the biggest roles in medical issues, and unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do about not having, “optimal” genetics. If you are unsure about your genetics, you can look back through your family history to see what you could be expecting.

Poor Dental Care

Poor oral hygiene habits over an extended timeframe may result in varying severity of gum disease. You will definitely get some form of gingivitis, and really bad dental care will result in periodontitis. Periodontitis can affect the teeth by compromising the gums and jaw bone through infection.

Poor Nutrition

Not eating a balanced diet will prevent you from getting the proper nutrients to your teeth and other oral structures. Eating too many carbohydrates will also promote decay by increasing the amount of naturally occurring bacteria in your mouth.

Facial Injury

A hard enough impact on the face can damage and change the position of teeth, this is usually a result of physical sports, fights, physical accidents, or vehicle-related injuries. We recommend you wear a mouthguard if you know you will be put in danger. Even actions like heavy weightlifting can cause physical trauma.

Teeth Straightening

Do I Need To Have My Teeth Straightened?

You might have oral issues with severely crooked teeth, however, your teeth don’t need to be, “perfectly straight”, if it’s not an issue for you. Straightening teeth is also an expensive endeavor, often requiring thousands of dollars and months to get the results you want. If you are an adult, this may be a big deterrent for you depending on your lifestyle and how important straight teeth are.

How To Fix Crooked Teeth?

Braces come in one of three types:

Metal Braces employ the use of metal strips or bands.
Metal or plastic brackets that are cemented or bonded to teeth.
Brackets that attach to the back teeth (also called “lingual” braces)

Clear Aligners

Invisalign™ Invisible Braces

With Invisalign®, there are no metal wires or brackets, only clear, surgical-grade aligners that are worn (much like whitening trays). Invisalign makes it easy to maintain your dental hygiene, it is a great way to straighten teeth and have a beautiful smile