Crooked teeth can affect the appearance of your smile, make it difficult to eat and talk, and lead to oral health and hygiene problems down the road. Both adults and children can suffer from misaligned teeth and jaws, but many people don’t understand what the culprit is or how to address it. Since crooked teeth can cause long-term health and lifestyle challenges, it’s important to understand what’s causing yours and what orthodontic treatments could help.
Causes of Crooked Teeth
While many people have crooked teeth, it’s an issue with multiple sources. Common causes of crooked teeth include:
- Genetics: Overbites and underbites are common traits inherited from your parents, as are small jaws. Genetics are often the cause of crooked teeth in children and young adults.
- Missing teeth: When losing baby or adult teeth, new or remaining teeth may overlap and crowd one another, especially if you have a small mouth or jaw.
- Ill-fitting dental restorations: If crowns and bridges aren’t properly placed in your mouth, your teeth may begin to shift after treatment. Let your dentist know as soon as possible if you experience pressure in your mouth or a change in your bite pattern.
- Poor habits and oral health problems: Thumb sucking, pacifiers and the prolonged use of a bottle can affect how a child’s teeth grow in. Tongue thrusting can cause open bites in children and adults.
- Oral infections: Gum disease can eventually affect your teeth, causing them shift and come loose.
- Aging: Your jaw bone loses density with age, which can cause your teeth to drift together.
- Injury: Trauma to your mouth could affect the position of your jaw and damage your gums and teeth. If you play contact sports, it’s wise to wear a gum shield or mouth guard.
Problems Associated with Crooked Teeth
If left untreated, crooked teeth and a misaligned bite can cause a host of problems. While you may feel self-conscious about your appearance, more serious issues include:
- Difficulty chewing or biting
- Speech impediments, such as a lisp
- Increased risk of tooth damage and decay
- Bad breath and difficulty keeping your teeth clean
- Chronic headaches, teeth grinding and TMJ
How to Fix Crooked Teeth
Advanced Orthodontic Care offers several treatments to help you straighten your teeth for a more confident smile. During your initial visit, we take X-rays, photos and dental impressions to gain a complete understanding of your bite mechanics. This helps us develop a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to your exact needs.
In some cases, we may suggest delaying treatment until tooth eruption and other factors that could affect your oral health are complete. However, we do offer early intervention orthodontics to help children address issues as soon as they begin to appear.
Some of the orthodontic treatments we may suggest include braces, retainers and the removal of permanent teeth. In severe cases, orthognathic surgery may be needed to correct the positioning of your facial bones, jaw and teeth.
Since some of our patients worry about the look and feel of traditional metal braces, we offer alternatives, including:
- Clear or ceramic braces: Clear braces work the same way as regular braces do, but brackets are clear and blend into your teeth. Even the interarch rubber bands used for this option are clear or tooth-colored, helping them remain largely unnoticeable during all stages of treatment.
- Invisalign®: This is a transparent, removable form of orthodontics that involves placing custom-made plastic aligners over your teeth.
- Synergy R: Unlike traditional braces, Synergy R does not require o-shaped rubber bands to hold wires and brackets together. This can increase comfort and decrease treatment time.
- Incognito®: This brand of lingual braces placed on the inside of your teeth, making them less visible to others.
Dr. Rudman will discuss how these various options impact length of treatment, comfort, cost and results so you can make an informed decision. Regardless of what you choose, it’s important to follow all of Dr. Rudman’s instructions in order to maintain positive outcomes long term. Failing to regularly wear a retainer after braces may cause your teeth to shift again.
Get Orthodontics in Denver
Dr. Rudman has practiced orthodontia for decades and is committed to helping you achieve a spectacular, healthy smile. Call 303-331-0222 or use the form on this page to schedule a consultation at Advanced Orthodontic Care. We serve patients in Denver, Cherry Creek, Stapleton and surrounding areas of Colorado.