How To Deal With Overcrowded Teeth
Dental crowding is simple to understand and, thanks to Invisalign, can be relatively simple to resolve. Dental crowding is a situation where there simply is not enough room in your mouth or jaw to accommodate all of your teeth. When teeth — children’s teeth, adult teeth, or wisdom teeth — come in when there isn’t enough room for them, they may twist, turn, point inwards or outwards, or even push other teeth forward or backwards. All of those consequences of dental overcrowding can interfere with healthy dental function, your ability to speak and chew, and the alignment of your jaw.
If you’re suffering the consequences of dental crowding or are concerned about the emergence of your wisdom teeth, a dentist near you will assess the condition of your teeth and the underlying causes of any overcrowding affecting your teeth. Your dentist will make recommendations for resolving the underlying causes of overcrowding — extracting wisdom teeth, for example — to eliminate complications. Once the underlying issues have been resolved, the alignment and spacing of your teeth can be improved with Invisalign in McKenzie Towne.
What are the causes of overcrowded teeth?
The causes of dental crowding are many and vary from person to person. Generally, they include genetic influences, the presence of additional teeth than typical, the unusually early loss of baby teeth, larger than usual teeth, and atypical tooth growth. All those factors can cause dental crowding without even considering the potential contribution by the emergence of a third set of molars in most people in their late teens or twenties — wisdom teeth.
What are the symptoms and potential consequences of dental crowding?
The best way to be aware of potential dental overcrowding is early and regular dental checkups. Your dentist or your child’s dentist will watch the emergence, growth, and alignment of your teeth between appointments and identify any crowding issues even before symptoms become apparent to you. Having said that, there is a cluster of symptoms that you or your child may experience if your teeth — or your child’s teeth — are overcrowded: toothaches and pain; a painful jaw; crooked and overlapping teeth; crossbite (when your upper teeth fit inside your lower teeth); and an unusually large overjet (the front-to-back space between your upper teeth and lower teeth).
Unresolved dental crowding can contribute to poor oral health, including cavities, gum disease and even tooth loss due to the inaccessibility of teeth surfaces for the purpose of oral hygiene. Unresolved dental crowding can also contribute to a misaligned bite, jaw pain, and even temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ). Unresolved dental overcrowding in children, in particular, may require extensive orthodontic treatment later in life.
How can Invisalign help with your overcrowded teeth?
Invisalign’s clear and removable thermoplastic aligners can treat dental overcrowding by gradually shifting your teeth or your teenager’s teeth from their original sub-optimal position to their preferred position. Invisalign in McKenzie Towne involves the development of a treatment plan based on digital scans of the affected teeth and the production of a series of custom aligners to relocate your teeth over a series of several months. During that treatment plan, you or your teen will be able to remove your aligners to eat, brush, and floss normally, but achieve quick results by wearing the aligners for 22 hours daily.
If you are concerned about the crowding of your jaw — or about the risk your child’s teeth may be overcrowded — you’re invited to contact a dental office in McKenzie Towne to arrange the earliest possible assessment and recommendations. The consequences of dental crowding can be serious and uncomfortable, but can be eliminated by early intervention and consistent attention.
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