Often when children have insufficient space in their dental arch and need to make room for adult teeth, braces or other orthodontic treatments, the dentist will recommend spacers or even extraction. It is considered almost a right of passage for the perfect smile. But sometimes tooth crowding isn’t just a problem for growing children. As we age, our teeth can become too crowded as well, leading to unanticipated problems.
What You Might See
If you are noticing that food seems to be getting stuck in places where it never did before or perhaps an overlapping tooth is overlapping even more, you are not alone. This is very much an adult problem as well. Particularly for those with a smaller jaw, hosting all one’s teeth in the proper place can be more difficult. Wisdom teeth often exacerbate the problem, but so can childhood issues that have gone untreated. Thumb sucking, for example, not only can disrupt the way the teeth come in, but can actually lead to a narrower palate that crowds the teeth. Sometimes childhood teeth that were extracted at a young age and not subject to a space retainer can lead to adult teeth that develop in a very crowded way.
Treatment Methods
If your teeth have seriously shifted, a visit to an orthodontist may be in order. But much of the problems of shifting teeth can also just mean you need cleanings more regularly in order to ensure that decay isn’t increasing. The treatment depends on the reason the teeth are crowded in the first place. While treatment is certainly easier when one is an adolescent, there are plenty of adult solutions to bring back one’s smile and prevent the problems associated with tooth crowding.
It is important to identify and correct this issue early on. Not addressing tooth crowding can create other dental problems. For example, teeth become more difficult to clean, which can lead to more decay. Besides the aesthetic issue of how your smile might look, cramped teeth can create jaw pain and toothaches as well. No need to suffer through that for the rest of your life! Misaligned teeth can also create erosion and damage to the tissue and bone surrounding the teeth. Considering older adults also tend to have a higher incidence of periodontal disease, and you have a recipe for tooth loss.
To know more about Orthodontia call us, (512) 843-0628!