Crooked teeth can make it difficult to properly clean your teeth, cause oral health issues, and cause self-consciousness about your smile. There are a number of things that can cause crooked teeth. Here are the most common culprits.
Genetics
Many people simply have crooked teeth due to their genetics and did not have anything happen in their lifetime to cause crookedness. Crooked teeth are very common and do not necessarily pose a problem if the crookedness is minor, but if it is more severe and causes issues with dental hygiene, you should think about having them straightened.
Thumb Sucking & Pacifiers
When small children get in the habit of regularly sucking their thumbs or pacifiers, it often causes misalignment as their teeth grow in, resulting in an increased overjet or open bite. For tips on how to gently and effectively reduce a thumb/pacifier sucking habit, check out our blog on the subject here.
Facial Injury
Traumatic impact to your face can cause the jaw to shift and reposition slightly. When this happens, often one or several teeth move into misalignment, which can push on other teeth and cause them to become crooked as well.
Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth can crowd the mouth and push other teeth out of place, causing misalignment. This one of the reasons why dentists recommend having your wisdom teeth removed as soon as they begin to come in as opposed to waiting until they have fully grown in, so that they do not have a chance to push other teeth out of alignment and cause crookedness.
Options to Straighten Teeth
If you have crooked teeth and are interested in having them straightened, both braces and Invisalign® are popular options. For more information, learn more about Invisalign® here or book an appointment at Tsawwassen Family Dental to discuss whether Invisalign® or traditional braces are right for you.
Invisalign®, the Invisalign logo, and iTero®, among others, are trademarks and/or service marks of Align Technology, Inc. or one of its subsidiaries or affiliated companies and may be registered in the U.S. and/or other countries.
