Can Crowded Teeth Get Worse?
Dental crowding can be a serious oral health issue. If your teeth are starting to shift or have been crowding for years, you’ll want to make sure you stop the progression of the crowding and reverse it.
Levels of Dental Crowding
There are different levels of dental crowding. These include:
- Mild
- Moderate
- Severe
Mild crowding usually involves one tooth. Moderate is a few teeth. Severe is the majority of your teeth. Whatever level you are at, you’ll want to speak with your dentist about the impact the crowding may cause, and how it can be addressed.
What Causes Crowding?
There are a few different causes of crowding, and it generally comes down to genetics. Some of the causes of dental crowding include:
- Smaller than normal jaw
- Larger than normal teeth
- Losing primary teeth too early
- Injury
- Improper tooth eruption
Whatever the cause may be, it can lead to a variety of oral health issues. These include:
- Gum disease/periodontitis
- Tooth decay
- Impacting of healthy teeth
- Cavities
- Jaw pain
- Issues with appearance
These oral health issues can often progress, which can in turn lead to the need for surgery or even extraction. It’s extremely important to avoid these oral health issues by repairing teeth crowding early on.
Can Crowding Get Worse?
Oral crowding can and likely will get worse over time. Even if you had orthodontic treatment earlier in your life, you may find that your teeth shift later in your life.
Crowding not only needs to be addressed initially, but protective measures likely will need to be taken later to ensure corrected teeth stay in place. This includes regular trips to the dentist to have your teeth checked out and wearing a retainer.
Repairing Dental Crowding
There are a few different options for repairing dental crowding. These include:
- Braces
- Extraction
- Teeth-straightening surgery
The most common repair option is braces. Braces adjust the placement of teeth over time—straightening them out. There are different types of braces, and they have different advantages and drawbacks. Metal braces are the most common, and they are very efficient. They are also very noticeable. Ceramic braces blend a little better with natural teeth, but they can be less sturdy. There are also invisible braces that are very difficult to detect, but they can take a little longer than traditional braces to straighten teeth.
Teeth-straightening surgery may be an option to speed up the process. There is also extraction, which is common with extra teeth removal (often wisdom teeth).
If braces are used, make sure to continue to wear your retainer afterwards to prevent your teeth from sliding back out of place!
Set an Appointment
Because your teeth crowding can worsen over time, it’s extremely important to catch the issue early on if possible. If your teeth have been crowding since childhood, now is a great time to address the issue and reverse the crowding.
In order to avoid additional oral health issues, set an appointment with your dentist to address your dental crowding.