Causes of Crooked Teeth
What Causes Crooked Teeth?
As a Dental Practice, we believe that no one should be afraid to smile. One of the most common reasons for people being unhappy with their smile is due to crooked teeth, gaps or stained teeth.
Here at Thurmaston Dental, we can help! We offer a wide variety of cosmetic dental treatments to suit everyone whether you would like teeth whitening treatment or orthodontic treatments. There are many different causes of crooked teeth; some can start from the age of 3 and other reasons can come from genetics or further down the line in life.
Genetics
- The most common cause of crooked teeth is genetics, just like the colour of your eyes or the colour of your hair you can choose them. Both over-crowding of teeth and jaw misalignment can be inherited through genetics.
- Having wonky teeth can come down to the size of your mouth. For example, smaller mouths are more likely to have overcrowding teeth. Fortunately, if it is genetics that causes your crooked teeth, then by the age of around 16 when all baby teeth have been replaced with the adult teeth you will be able to have braces to resolve angular teeth, overcrowding or an overbite.
Dummies & Thumb Sucking
- When babies are teething they tend to put all sorts in their mouths to try and soothe the pain. A dummy or pacifier might be used, however, if there is a prolonged time where an infant is using a dummy this will affect the growing teeth. Unfortunately, this will lead to crooked teeth, overbites and speech problems. Infants will reach an age where they should be using a cup instead of a bottle.
- The prolonged use of a bottle will also affect the growth of baby and adult teeth in children. These issues are also caused by prolonged thumb sucking. At the time of these happening is may seem harmless, but it will become noticeable until a few years down the line.
- Sucking the thumb for prolonged periods of time will pull both your top and bottom teeth forward and out of natural alignment, causing ‘buck teeth’.
Premature Loss of Baby Teeth
- If an infant loses any baby teeth prematurely (usually due to tooth decay or a facial trauma) the adult teeth will grow in a different way. Baby teeth act as an anchor for permanent adult teeth that helps to guide them through.
Extra Teeth
- Having extra teeth will also have an effect on the way permanent teeth come through. The majority of people will have 32 teeth and aside from wisdom teeth, there might be a few more teeth growing in the jaw. The result of this is overcrowding and crooked teeth, each tooth will try and find their place.
Not Enough Teeth
- The opposite of the above being not having ‘enough’ teeth, the reason behind this being genetics. Having less than 32 teeth will leave gaps in the jaw and causes teeth to be pushed out of their original alignment.
Large Teeth
- Oversized teeth or larger teeth can also cause problems as there is only so much space for teeth to grow into.
Habits
- Personal habits will also affect the way your teeth look. If you have already had orthodontic treatment and are currently wearing a retainer then failure to wear the retailer will result in your teeth moving their original positions.
Illness & Injuries
- The more severe instances of crooked teeth come from facial traumas, jaw injuries or mouth injuries. If any teeth are lost during a trauma then this will cause the remaining teeth to move into the space but not smoothly.
- The same applies if your jaw has shifted through an injury, your teeth will gradually move to accommodate the new position of your jaw.
Nasal Airway Obstruction
- Everyone breathes through their nose, and only occasionally breathes through their mouth. However, when there is a nasal airway obstruction for example if a child suffers from a chronic blocked sinus then breathing through their mouth becomes a habit.
Problems Caused by Crooked Teeth
You might be wondering ‘are crooked teeth bad for you?’, there can be a few problems caused by having wonky teeth:
- Gum Disease can become an ever-present danger with crooked teeth as toothbrush bristles and floss can’t reach the gum line.
- You will have more difficulty cleaning your teeth thoroughly. As stated above bristles and floss might not be able to reach the gum line around each tooth where plaque builds up.
- Your teeth are more likely to wear. Upper and lower teeth may rub together which over time will lead to wearing of the tooth enamel.
- You are at a higher risk of chipping your teeth if teeth overlap each other or stick out.
- Chewing difficulties can occur if your jaw alignment is off.
- Having crooked teeth can cause bad breath due to the lingering bacteria in the mouth.
If you are unhappy with your smile, maybe you have crooked or overcrowded teeth get in touch with our friendly team here at Thurmaston Dental. We will be able to provide more information on our different orthodontic treatments such as our Six Month Smile and Invisalign Treatments.
Back to Blog
