Treatment can take anywhere between two to three years depending on the type of braces you choose, and what you need to have done. Braces may be an especially good choice for children, who still have malleable, flexible gums and bone tissues. If you’ve decided that straightening your teeth is the right choice for you, there are several alternatives you can discuss with a dentist or orthodontist.īraces are a great option for people of any age, provided that their teeth and gums are strong enough to hold them. What are my options for straightening my teeth? Unhappiness with your physical appearance can lead to a lack of self-esteem and social avoidance. If your teeth are misaligned, they can affect the way you articulate sound, causing problems with speech.
#Crooked smile cracked#
Crooked teeth can also cause excess wear and tear on the teeth, gums, and jaw muscles, resulting in cracked teeth, jaw strain, temporomandibular joint disorder, and chronic headaches. Crooked teeth can also interfere with proper chewing, which may cause digestion problems. If left untreated, gum disease can lead to periodontitis, a more serious infection that can damage bones and teeth. This can result in tooth decay and gum disease. It can be hard to clean in between crooked teeth. Other health issues that crooked teeth may cause include: In addition, some people may feel so self-conscious about their crooked teeth that they stop smiling or avoid social situations. For example, misaligned teeth may affect your ability to chew, causing you pain every time you eat. In some instances, crooked teeth can affect your quality of life. Facial injuryĪ hit to the face or mouth can knock teeth out of place, resulting in one or more crooked teeth. Poor nutrition, especially in children, can lead to tooth decay and poor dental development, which are potential precursors to crooked teeth. This can lead to crooked teeth and other dental health problems. Not having your teeth checked at least annually by a dentist can sometimes mean that problems, such as gum disease and cavities, go untreated. You may also inherit an overbite or underbite from your parents. If one or both of your parents had crowded or crooked teeth, it’s possible that you will, too. Poor myofunctional habits can cause a malocclusion to occur. If you have an underbite, your lower front teeth jut out farther than your upper front teeth. If you have an overbite, your upper front teeth protrude out farther than your lower front teeth. When this alignment doesn’t occur, malocclusion results.Ĭommon misalignments include overbite and underbite. Your upper teeth are meant to fit slightly over your lower teeth, with the points of your upper molars fitting into the grooves of your lower molars. Myofunctional habits are repetitive behaviors that affect the muscles or functions of the mouth or face.
Scientists believe that our evolved, shorter jaw may be responsible for crowded, crooked, and misaligned teeth. This change has altered our collective jaw size, making it smaller. The modern diet of soft, processed food that many people consume requires less chewing than the foods eaten by our early ancestors.
Other issues affecting baby teeth that can also affect permanent teeth include: Jaw size If trauma to the mouth or tooth decay causes one or more baby teeth to fall out sooner than they would naturally, the permanent teeth that follow may grow out of the gums slanted rather than straight. However, if baby teeth grow in crowded together, the permanent teeth may be crowded as well. Having crooked baby teeth doesn’t mean your child will have crooked permanent teeth. Heredity and genetics may also play a role. Prolonged habits, such as sucking on a pacifier or thumb, can also cause baby teeth to become pushed out or crooked. Baby teeth sometimes move into crooked positions because they’re too small to fill the amount of gum space allocated to them. Both baby teeth and permanent teeth can come in crooked, or they can become crooked.