Today, you can thank your Georgetown dentist because we’re going to set some things straight about the causes of misaligned teeth. Let’s face it, we all know that mouths and teeth come in all shapes and sizes, with numerous reasons your teeth may grow crooked, twisted, gapped, or overlapped.
The American Academy of Orthodontists will tell you that your mouth is actually small compared to your teeth, causing common crowding and shifting. Sometimes our jaw is even to blame due to malformation. When this happens, you’ll notice overbites and underbites can occur. In both of these cases, the jaw is misaligned and can cause teeth to extend or protrude.
Let’s explore some of the most common reasons why crooked teeth occur and think about if any of them are affecting your bite.
Common Reasons For Misaligned Teeth
Here are some of the most common causes of misaligned smiles:
- Genetics — the most frequent cause of overbites, underbites, and crooked smiles is unavoidable
- Mouth and jaw shape is probably the biggest reason because smaller mouths tend to have less room for healthy teeth to thrive
- Earlier than usual loss of adult or baby teeth
- Dental restorations that don’t fit properly
- Gingivitis and other gum or teeth irritations
- Oral injury
- Unhealthy habits such as thumb sucking, pacifier use, tongue thrusting, and prolonged bottle feeding
Like we said before, do any of these sound familiar to you or maybe to one of you kids? We understand that there can be issues that come with having crooked teeth and misalignments. That’s why your Georgetown dentist is here to help.
What Should I Do About My Bite?
Make sure you talk to us about any issues you might have and we’ll be able to use our state-of-the-art technology to properly diagnose what’s happening with your teeth. Speaking with Dr. Derek Winegar and team will hopefully help you decide how you want to proceed in perfecting your smile. Please know that you have options, it’s just a matter of finding the right one that fits your needs, budget, lifestyle — everything!
One of the biggest, most common complaints we hear from patients is the effect crooked teeth have on confidence and self-esteem. Don’t suffer or struggle like that! Let’s get together for a consultation and see what plan of action we can take like life-changing Invisalign® clear aligner therapy that’s helped so many patients at our dental office in Georgetown love the way their smile looks. Are you next? You won’t know until you call us!