Crooked Teeth – How to Fix it With Braces?

Crooked Teeth – How to Fix it With Braces?

28th May 2022

Numerous dentists worldwide have adapted dental braces in modern-day orthodontic treatments to fix various problems. However, it is most commonly used to treat maloccluded or crooked teeth.

What are Dental Braces?

Malocclusion of teeth usually happens when the upper and lower jaws are not properly aligned and protrude over one another, making the teeth look crooked.

In most cases, malocclusion only affects the appearance of your teeth, making them look out of symmetry. In contrast, such protrusion can cause serious pain, infections, difficulty in eating or chewing, and even difficulty in speaking in other severe cases.

Braces improve the condition of malocclusion and significantly reduce the widened gap between the teeth. Incorporating braces in treating this condition is a great way to better your oral health and prevent it from deteriorating any further in the future.

Causes of Crooked Teeth

• Baby teeth and permanent teeth can originally come in crooked or become crooked at a later point in time. Baby teeth tend to shift into crooked positions when they are unable to fill the gum space because of their tiny size.
• Many babies can only go to sleep when they are sucking on a pacifier or a thumb. Such long-term habits can also push baby teeth outside and make them crooked.
• Hereditary and genetic factors often play an essential role in triggering the process of pushing the teeth into crooked positions.
• Crooked baby teeth do not always necessarily result in a permanent set of crooked teeth. It is possible for your child to grow perfectly aligned permanent teeth even if their baby teeth were crooked. However, if there is less space between baby teeth, the permanent teeth will also grow crowded.
• Any injury inside the mouth or early tooth decay can cause the baby’s teeth to fall out sooner than naturally expected. In this case, the permanent teeth grow slightly slanted out of the gums, getting pushed out of the alignment.
• We often overlook dental issues and do not go for regular checkups with a cosmetic dentist. If you do not have at least one annual checkup by your dentist, you might be ignoring underlying issues like gum disease and cavities. When left untreated for a long time, such conditions can cause crooked teeth and other dental problems.
• Believe it or not, food plays an important role in maintaining the condition of our teeth, especially in babies. Poor and insufficient nutrition can cause tooth decay and slow dental development among toddlers. All these reasons can easily lead to crooked or maloccluded teeth.

Major Disadvantages of Crooked Teeth

• Periodontal Disease – Crooked teeth can involve considerable gaps between your teeth, which become quite difficult to remove stains from. This can decay your teeth early and cause other gum diseases. If such diseases are not treated at the proper time, they can cause periodontitis. This chronic condition causes critical damage to the bones and teeth.
• Improper Digestion – Crooked teeth can prevent you from chewing your food properly, and consuming large chunks of unchewed food can lead to indigestion and other digestive disorders.
• Fast Wearing – Maloccluded teeth can wear more quickly, which affects not only the teeth but also the gums and jaw muscles. This can further cause cracked teeth, jaw strains, temporomandibular joint disorder, and incredibly strong chronic headaches.
• Speech Impairing – Misaligned or crooked teeth can affect your ability to produce and articulate sounds or words, making it difficult to speak.
• Unattractive Smile – Crooked teeth can also be one of the reasons for unattractive smiles in the personalities. This can even lead to a lack of confidence during social interactions.

Types Of Braces

Metal Braces

These types of braces are made out of metals and are fixed to the teeth with brackets, bands, and flexible wiring. If your dental alignment is complex, metal braces are your most suitable choice. With the developing technology, these braces have evolved to be more comfortable and can be personalised easily to match your personality.

Ceramic Braces

Unlike metal braces, ceramic braces and the connected arch wires are either clear or match the colour of your teeth. They do not stand out as much as metal braces and are not distinctly visible. These braces are more prone to staining and can break easily because of their brittle quality.

Invisible Braces

The Invisalign is made of clear and transparent plastic aligners suitable only for adults and teens. These clear braces can also be custom-made for your mouth. They are designed to fit over each tooth and must be replaced two times every month. We do not recommend this for complex alignment correction.

Lingual Braces

The side of the teeth that faces your tongue is the lingual surface. These braces are also invisible because they can be attached to the backsides of your teeth. Although they are quite similar to metal braces, this option is not for everyone because they are the most expensive alternative.

Procedure for Applying Braces

The treatment or procedure required for the application of braces involves three major steps.

• The first placement of the braces is a very crucial step in the entire process. Your dentist will start by attaching the selected brace to your teeth with the help of an arch wire and some ring-like bands. These help to hold the braces in place.
• After this, the brace will be adjusted periodically to achieve the desired alignment of your teeth. Your mouth can feel a little sore for a few days after the process of readjustment.
• When the braces are removed, you must wear a retainer to stabilise the teeth further.

Talk to Us and Get an Appointment

The entire task of making the decision and undergoing the process of applying braces can be overwhelming to most. It is not a hasty decision; you should do proper research before taking any step. It is best to consult a doctor and understand your unique condition and requirements for getting the best results.

The special dental team of prolific experts at Natural Smiles will provide you with insightful consultation and help you set up an appointment with a specialist for further discussions on this matter.