Crowded Teeth: Causes and Treatment

Crowded teeth are a common orthodontic issue that can affect your self-confidence. It occurs when teeth fail to grow in their correct positions, mainly when there is not enough room for them to grow. They then try to fight for space, competing with other teeth.

Overcrowding can either be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the number of anterior teeth that overlap. Either way, it can result in serious issues that require cosmetic surgery to less serious but disturbing ones like poor bite and gum disease.

The good thing is that you can always fix this problem. Talk to your orthodontist to determine the best treatment for you. However, before that, let's see the primary causes of crowded teeth and available treatment options.

Crowded Teeth – What are the Causes?

There are various reasons why you might experience crooked teeth. They include:

Genetics

Crowded teeth can occur as a hereditary factor. If your parents have crooked teeth, experience overbites and underbites, have too many teeth, or have poor pate development, they might pass it down to you.

Poor Oral Hygiene

Failing to take care of your teeth well puts you at risk of developing gum problems and cavities. When these tooth issues are not treated, it leads to crooked teeth, and besides, your teeth might become loose and fall out.

Premature Teeth Loss

Kids start losing their baby teeth at 6, and other teeth might have moved to the loss area if you lost a tooth earlier. This crowds the area since the permanent teeth, in due course, grow here.

Facial Injury

If you experienced a jaw injury as a child, it might have shifted the jaw from the original position, and this causes displaced teeth.

Immature Swallow

Also known as tongue thrusting, the immature swallow is another cause of crowded teeth. Its effect is similar to thumb sucking, resulting in misaligned bites.

How to Treat Crowded Teeth?

Let's not lie; dental crowding causes embarrassment and discomfort to most people. The decision to treat it or not is personal. However, if untreated, it results in serious health issues. Here are various ways to treat teeth crowding:

Getting Dental Braces

Braces are pretty typical for treating overcrowding, especially in children. Lingual braces primarily work better in aligning your teeth. Usually, they are glued to the inside surface of your teeth, and you can get them custom-made to ensure utmost comfort in your mouth.

The traditional metal or clear braces also efficiently deal with crowded teeth, and they are perfect when the situation is mild or extreme. However, talk to experienced orthodontists for definitive answers on what braces work better for you.

Clear Aligners

These are a removable option, unlike braces. They are custom-made, and you can change them regularly to position your teeth well. You should wear each set of aligners for 1 to 3 weeks.

Getting Veneers and Crowns

If your malocclusions do not require further treatment, you can get veneers. The process involves filling the crowded teeth with a white material. Also, your dentist can remove part of the tooth to fit a porcelain veneer.

Retainers for Minor Overcrowding

If only a few teeth are overcrowded, retainers can align them. You can, however, still use them after removing braces to straighten the remaining teeth.

Wrapping Up

Crowded teeth are a threat to your oral health. So, please find a way to treat them by speaking to a trusted cosmetic dentist. Synergy Dental Arts can determine the correct treatment option for you based on the extent of the overcrowding. Please book an appointment with us for a beautiful, straighter, healthier smile.