Below are several reasons for crooked teeth and how to maintain a straight smile:
Poor Dental Hygiene
Many children do not like brushing their teeth or do not do it properly for whatever reason. Poor dental hygiene at an early age can lead to many different issues with their permanent teeth and how straight they are later in their life.
If parents are not diligent with their children about brushing and caring for their teeth, children can grow up with bad teeth. Many children’s shows now feature characters brushing their teeth as well as talking about going to the dentist. This is always helpful to impressionable young children.
Childhood Habits
Babies and children that suck their thumbs or constantly have their fingers or other objects in their mouth can move their teeth. Moving the baby teeth can cause the permanent teeth to come in crooked and remains misaligned until a dentist can intervene. It is important that parents watch their children carefully when it comes to putting things in their mouths, especially a thumb. There are many “tricks” to preventing thumb-sucking and helping a baby or child to do another self-soothing activity.
Similar to thumb-sucking, tongue thrusting is also damaging to developing teeth in young babies and toddlers. Thrusting a tongue forward repeatedly and with force can move teeth. This is a bad habit, and hard to break. This is likely a stress or fear response. You will need to find out what is bothering the child before corrective measures can be taken.
Not brushing their teeth as a young child is another contributing factor to crooked teeth as an adult. This can lead to cavities and missing teeth, both of which will result in crooked teeth when they come in during the child’s formative years.
Gingivitis is another contributing factor to misaligned teeth. This gum disease is a result of not brushing, leaving food particles on the teeth and gums, as well as general poor oral hygiene.
Losing Baby Teeth
Parents cannot control when a child loses their baby teeth, also known as milk teeth. However, the more they help their child care for their baby teeth, the longer they will last. The goal is for the baby teeth to come out when they are ready to be replaced with their adult or permeant teeth. Cavities and loss of baby teeth at an early age can contribute to long-term dental issues, including crooked teeth.
Food Choices
Most children do not make their own choices when it comes to mealtime. It is up to the parents to provide good, wholesome, and nutritious foods. A child that is on a constant diet of junk food, sweets, and poor nutrition will have bad teeth. This can lead to cavities and missing teeth as well. And result in crooked adult teeth.
Genetics
This is one area of a child’s teeth that cannot be helped until later in their life. A child has no control over their genetics, so they may inherit parts of both parents that will contribute to crooked teeth later in their life. If their jaw is too big or small, or the same for their teeth, this can mean misaligned teeth later in their life. An oral surgeon can help correct a jawline or other teeth and mouth issues.
Malocclusion
This is the term for misaligned teeth caused by the jaws not meeting properly. It is also known as an overbite or underbite. The entire row of teeth on the top can hang over the lower row of teeth, or the opposite can be true. A dentist or oral surgeon can help realign someone’s jaw so that the teeth will not be crooked.
Mouth Breathing
Although it is hard to correct in babies and young children, excessive mouth breathing can affect the alignment of teeth over time. Adults are easier to adjust to breathing through their nose with various exercises and devices specifically made for helping someone breathe through their nose.
Childhood Injury
No matter how careful and diligent parents are, they cannot keep their eyes on their children every second of every day. Toddlers, young children, and all children are going to fall and hurt themselves. Most accidents are minor and do not require a trip to the doctor or dentist. However, there are going to be more severe injuries in a child’s life that may cause damage to the teeth, mouth, and or jaw. These are the ones that can create crooked teeth later in life.
The Number of Teeth
The average adult has 28 teeth, but some adults can have as many as 33 teeth. This is because wisdom teeth can come in or erupt at different times in a young person’s life. There is no set schedule for the wisdom teeth to come in when a person is growing up.
The presents of wisdom teeth can overcrowd someone’s mouth with more teeth, causing them to be crooked and misaligned.
To maintain a straight set of teeth, be sure to brush and floss every day. Be sure to brush after every meal, although that is not always possible. Make sure you are eating a well-balanced diet and limit the number of sweets you consume each day. Leaving sweets like candy on your teeth can cause cavities and gingivitis which leads to missing teeth and crooked teeth.
Be sure to visit your dentist twice a year to make sure your mouth and teeth are in top shape. A healthy smile is more than straight teeth. There are many issues you cannot see when you look in the mirror each day but could be feeling a twinge of pain on one side of your mouth or the other. This is also a time to make an appointment with your dentist.
Read more blog: How to have stronger teeth by improving your dental health