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What Causes Crooked Teeth?
Treatment
While having crooked teeth primarily impacts feelings of self-worth, it can also cause difficulty chewing and swallowing, and, in rare cases, speaking. Luckily, there are a number of options for teeth straightening, includingmetal braces, clear aligners, retainers, and veneers, among others.
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Perfect teeth, with the upper set fitting a little over the lower and themolarsinterlocking appropriately, are relatively rare. However, most issues are minor, and many don’t require treatment.
Malocclusion arises due to mismatches between the sizes of the upper jaw and lower jaw. It can also occur when the teeth are not the correct size for the jaw.A range of factors—everything from genetics to dental hygiene—can cause this to happen.
Genetics
Anatomic Differences and Conditions Present at Birth
Parafunctional Habits
Thumb suckingcan significantly affect tooth formation and is a common cause of misalignment. While this, or others like it, such as using a sucker or pacifier, are normal until the age of three, they can become problematic afterward.
Tongue thrusting(sometimes referred to as tongue thrust) is another issue that creates tooth misalignment.Occurring primarily in infants and children, this is when your tongue touches the upper teeth every time you swallow. Arising either due to issues with jaw structure or a tongue that’s too large, tongue thrusting can cause crooked teeth over time.
The signs of this behavior may include:
Facial Injury
Fracture of the jawbone and/or skull—as in a severe fall or accident—can significantly impact tooth alignment.As they heal from the injury, the upper and lower jaw can become deformed or mismatched, which leads to crooked teeth.
Poor Dental Care
Problems with dental health, especially when you’re growing up, are another common cause of crooked teeth. These may include:
Keep Up With Dental HygeineEnsuring your teeth are healthy can also help prevent malocclusion. This meansbrushing properlytwice a day,flossingat least once a day, and avoiding certain foods and drinks.
Keep Up With Dental Hygeine
Ensuring your teeth are healthy can also help prevent malocclusion. This meansbrushing properlytwice a day,flossingat least once a day, and avoiding certain foods and drinks.
Other Causes
Crooked teeth can also occur due to a couple other factors, which include:
Recap
In addition to issues with self-esteem, misaligned teeth can also cause:
Treatment for Crooked Teeth
Orthodontic approachesfor crooked teeth can be used for almost all ages (from children to older adults). Alongside more traditional metal braces and hardware are a range of newer methods, such as using clear aligners or veneers. It’s important to carefully consider your options.
Metal Braces
Metal bracesare a fundamental orthodontic technique, especially for adolescents. Placed onto teeth using bonding agents, brackets are wired together and tightened over time.Rubber bands, springs, or other instruments may also be used to help pressure teeth and encourage better alignment.
When used anywhere from six months to a couple of years, braces are effective in correcting alignment problems. Generally, metal braces are a less expensive treatment. However, in addition to being visible, there are periods of pain and soreness associated with this approach.
Additionally, ceramic braces and those employing lingual brackets—in which the brackets are on the inside of the teeth—are types of braces that more easily blend into the surrounding teeth.
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Clear Aligners
Clear aligners are another common approach, popular because they’re not as visible when worn. Invisalign is one brand in this category.
Taken off when eating and brushing, these are wearable sets of plastic trays designed to adjust the position of your teeth. Every two to three weeks, you’ll need a new set to continue the gradual process of tooth straightening.
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Retainers
In addition to aligners, wearing a retainer can also help more mild alignment problems. Special retainers, such as a spring aligner, can be used for minor alignment problems.
Retainers are specially designed for the contours of your mouth to put strategic pressure on your teeth.Like aligners, retainers are less visible and can be taken off for eating and dental hygiene.
Retainers are almost always given to patients after treatment to maintain the results. There are many retainer designs, some of which are clear and others that have metal. Your dental healthcare professional will discuss and prescribe what is best for you.
Veneers
Veneersdo not correct malalignment but may be used as acosmetic dentistry approachto fill in gaps or irregularities in your smile. Veneers are thin shells crafted to fit over your front teeth to improve their appearance.
RecapTreatments for crooked teeth vary based on the severity of the case; however, they are generally successful in correcting problems. They include everything from metal braces and clear aligners to retainers, which are worn to adjust the position of teeth through pressure.
Treatments for crooked teeth vary based on the severity of the case; however, they are generally successful in correcting problems. They include everything from metal braces and clear aligners to retainers, which are worn to adjust the position of teeth through pressure.
Summary
Crooked teeth, which can significantly impact self-esteem, are very common in both children and adults. Causes of the condition include genetics, birth defects, facial injuries and missing teeth, and childhood behaviors, such as thumb sucking.
There are many teeth-straightening treatments, such as wearing metal braces, clear aligners, retainers, and veneers, among others.
You should always seek a consultation from a dental healthcare professional who specializes in fixing crowded and crooked teeth, such as an orthodontist.
While crooked teeth can impact your self-esteem and sense of self-worth, it’s important to note that nowadays there are more options than ever before for straightening them.
It’s never too late to start correcting crooked teeth. With treatment, there will be no need to hide your teeth or to feel self-conscious about them—there will be no need to hide your smile.
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6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lombardo G, Vena F, Negri P, et al.Worldwide prevalence of malocclusion in the different stages of dentition: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Eur J Paediatr Dent. 2020;21(2):115-122. doi:10.23804/ejpd.2020.21.02.05Zou J, Meng M, Law C, Rao Y, Zhou X.Common dental diseases in children and malocclusion.Int J Oral Sci. 2018;10(1). doi:10.1038/s41368-018-0012-3MedlinePlus.Malocclusion of teeth.Dixit U, Shetty R.Comparison of soft-tissue, dental, and skeletal characteristics in children with and without tongue thrusting habit.Contemp Clin Dent. 2013;4(1):2. doi:10.4103/0976-237x.111585Cleveland Clinic.Braces & retainers: what they are, treatment & benefits.American Dental Association.Veneers.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lombardo G, Vena F, Negri P, et al.Worldwide prevalence of malocclusion in the different stages of dentition: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Eur J Paediatr Dent. 2020;21(2):115-122. doi:10.23804/ejpd.2020.21.02.05Zou J, Meng M, Law C, Rao Y, Zhou X.Common dental diseases in children and malocclusion.Int J Oral Sci. 2018;10(1). doi:10.1038/s41368-018-0012-3MedlinePlus.Malocclusion of teeth.Dixit U, Shetty R.Comparison of soft-tissue, dental, and skeletal characteristics in children with and without tongue thrusting habit.Contemp Clin Dent. 2013;4(1):2. doi:10.4103/0976-237x.111585Cleveland Clinic.Braces & retainers: what they are, treatment & benefits.American Dental Association.Veneers.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Lombardo G, Vena F, Negri P, et al.Worldwide prevalence of malocclusion in the different stages of dentition: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Eur J Paediatr Dent. 2020;21(2):115-122. doi:10.23804/ejpd.2020.21.02.05Zou J, Meng M, Law C, Rao Y, Zhou X.Common dental diseases in children and malocclusion.Int J Oral Sci. 2018;10(1). doi:10.1038/s41368-018-0012-3MedlinePlus.Malocclusion of teeth.Dixit U, Shetty R.Comparison of soft-tissue, dental, and skeletal characteristics in children with and without tongue thrusting habit.Contemp Clin Dent. 2013;4(1):2. doi:10.4103/0976-237x.111585Cleveland Clinic.Braces & retainers: what they are, treatment & benefits.American Dental Association.Veneers.
Lombardo G, Vena F, Negri P, et al.Worldwide prevalence of malocclusion in the different stages of dentition: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Eur J Paediatr Dent. 2020;21(2):115-122. doi:10.23804/ejpd.2020.21.02.05
Zou J, Meng M, Law C, Rao Y, Zhou X.Common dental diseases in children and malocclusion.Int J Oral Sci. 2018;10(1). doi:10.1038/s41368-018-0012-3
MedlinePlus.Malocclusion of teeth.
Dixit U, Shetty R.Comparison of soft-tissue, dental, and skeletal characteristics in children with and without tongue thrusting habit.Contemp Clin Dent. 2013;4(1):2. doi:10.4103/0976-237x.111585
Cleveland Clinic.Braces & retainers: what they are, treatment & benefits.
American Dental Association.Veneers.
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