The good news is that teeth crowding can be prevented with the following measures. Teeth crowding or crooked teeth are oral health issues that many of us have dealt with during our childhood. Crowded teeth should be prevented for more reasons than one. The ability to present a beautiful smile is an essential part of life across age profiles and gender. With straight teeth, you gain higher self-esteem and prevent oral diseases like cavities and gum disease making it easier for you to speak clearly. As adults, we are also concerned that our children should not go through the hardships that we endured in our childhood. Therefore, let us explore how you can help prevent dental crowding or teeth crowding, and other oral health problems in our children.
Dental crowding is like a puzzle that needs to be solved to create a beautiful smile.
Thumb-sucking is a major culprit
An important measure to prevent crooked teeth or teeth crowding is ensuring that the gums are free from constant pressure. Bottle feeding, pacifiers, and thumb sucking at the infant stage including tongue thrusting can hurt jaw development and teeth triggering incorrect growth. You should therefore take care to encourage the right oral habits for your kids and wean them away from the detrimental habits mentioned above. This way, you can reduce the risk of crowded teeth and help the kids gently to develop the jaw and teeth in the right way.
Ensure oral hygiene at its best
Poor oral hygiene is often identified as the major cause of dental crowding. In children suffering from issues like gum disease, the resulting bacteria, and the associated decay can trigger problems for the adult health that is just in the offing. When the gums and teeth are healthy, they are more likely to develop in the right way. Instilling the correct oral hygiene early on for kids is a great way to keep them protected from many dental health issues during the growth cycle. Healthy habits established early on will also lay down the foundation for healthy teeth and their support system across the lifespan.
Missing teeth are a major culprit
In the context of teeth crowding treatment, dental professionals opine that missing teeth, particularly in the early stages of life can profoundly impact the oral health in the later years. Thankfully though, teeth loss is preventable irrespective of its cause in most instances. The best thing that we can do is to see a competent dentist as soon as you notice the missing teeth. This would give the dentist the opportunity to launch corrective measures before the situation aggravates triggering more complex issues with the individual’s oral health.
Genetic causes
In certain instances, teeth crowding or crooked teeth can be triggered by genetic causes. If one or both parents have suffered from issues like crowded teeth or crooked teeth across the growth path, it is likely that you pass on certain potentially harmful oral genes to your children. In such a situation practicing excellent oral hygiene may not be adequate to prevent crowded or crooked teeth. While continuing with healthy oral habits would still be essential, you should let your dentist know about any family history of such oral problems early on so that he/she can advise preventive measures to keep your children safer.
Focus on prevention
When you identify oral health problems in children early on, it is a lot easier for your dentist to launch corrective action for issues like crowded teeth. Preventive measures for oral issues like dental crowding work best when the kids are less than 10 years of age. But, once the children cross 12 years of age, braces might become essential and that could be socially embarrassing for the kids.
Early signs of dental crowding or crooked teeth include abnormality in teeth alignment, difficulty in swallowing, the unusual appearance of the face, and trouble speaking. An orthodontist can help the kids with the proper development of teeth and avoid more complex oral issues later in their life. Orthodontists with expertise in pediatric dentistry can be a huge help in correcting these early signs and avoiding expensive teeth crowding treatment later in life.
Having examined various measures to prevent teeth crowding, let us now turn to types of dental crowding, degrees of crowding, and what happens when teeth crowding is not treated by a competent dentist.
Teeth crowding types
Generally, there are 3 types of teeth crowding delineated on the basis of how the issue originated.
People with very small jaws will more likely see their children also suffering from this problem and thus is hereditary and makes the first type.
Bad oral fixations or oral habits contribute to the second teeth crowding type and prolonged use of pacifiers and thumb sucking are examples of this type.
The third type is associated with the eruption of the wisdom teeth without adequate space to support them. In this situation, all the existing teeth get displaced leading to dental crowding.
Degrees of crowding
Degrees of crowding fall into 3 categories mild, moderate, and severe. To find an adequate and effective solution, your orthodontist will make an assessment and establish the degree of crowding and its complexity so that the overcrowding of the teeth can be fixed. During this exercise by your orthodontist, you will also be told about the degree of crowding of the bottom and top teeth. He/she will also call for a 3D scan and X-ray so that a detailed study can be made to obtain the results.
Consequences of leaving teeth crowding untreated
Many people tend to consider teeth crowding as merely a cosmetic issue. However, it is essential to understand that teeth crowding can trigger various general health issues. Some of these issues include:-
Poor oral hygiene:
teeth crowding makes it difficult to reach all surfaces of your teeth and use dental floss the right way. Further, it gets difficult to maintain a healthy mouth causing plaque and bacterial accumulation triggering the possibility of tartar buildup and cavities. Remember also that plaque causes bad breath.
Inflamed gums: In very severe cases, teeth crowding leading to poor dental hygiene can cause periodontal disease and gum inflammation.
Deterioration of tooth enamel:
dental crowding can also lead to acceleration in deterioration of the tooth enamel as well as the tooth itself.
Bite issues and occlusion:
The overlap can cause bite issues and occlusion which are more serious oral health issues.
How to stay safe from oral health issues
Keeping your regular appointments with the dentist is the best way to ensure that oral health problems are detected early on and treated in time and more complex issues are kept at bay. At Dr.Savita Choudhry, we have a team of dental professionals who can work with you and provide effective guidance and treatment on oral health issues in time.
