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Causes of Crooked Teeth

Live Life Smiling

crooked-teeth girl
  • Holmes and Palmer Orthodontics
  • August 19, 2021

 

AS UNFAIR AND ILLOGICAL as it can be, people do tend to judge others on their appearances, and one trait that falls under that umbrella is whether a person’s teeth are crooked or straight. Studies indicate that people with straight teeth are perceived as being more successful, more intelligent, and more likely to get dates than people with crooked teeth. With so much of how we are perceived riding on the straightness of our teeth, you might be wondering how teeth sometimes come in crooked in the first place.

How Diet Affects Dental Alignment

The factors influencing teeth crowding and other orthodontics problems still aren’t fully understood, but a leading theory today is the Soft Foods Theory. In brief, because we don’t eat the kind of tough, fibrous diet our hunter-gatherer ancestors did, we don’t stimulate as much bone growth in our jaws, which leaves less room for all of our teeth to grow in straight. We might also be missing some of the vitamins and minerals that help teeth and bones grow.

Now, we aren’t recommending switching to a hunter-gatherer diet, because that has serious downsides too. So much extra chewing means that the teeth are subjected to much more wear and tear, and we think that needing a little orthodontic treatment to straighten things out is far more preferable to getting worn-down teeth much earlier than we would while enjoying the tasty modern foods available to us.

Genes Play a Role Too

If you inherit genes for a small jaw from your mother and genes for large teeth from your father, that’s a recipe for dental crowding, and if your parents had braces, you will more likely need them as well (although that could be because parents who benefitted from orthodontic treatment are more likely to want their children to share those benefits than parents who didn’t).

Our Daily Habits Affect Our Teeth

There’s nothing we can do about the genes we were born with, and a hunter-gatherer diet has too many downsides to be an effective dental health solution, but we can do a lot to create or minimize orthodontic problems through our daily habits. Thumbsucking and pacifier use beyond age four, habitual mouth breathing, a tongue-thrust reflex, and simply leaning your head on your hand frequently can all have a cumulative effect on the way teeth grow in, the shape of the dental arch, and even how teeth drift in adulthood.

What Is Mesial Drift?

You read that right: crookedness and crowding don’t only happen when adult teeth first erupt; they can also happen over time as we get older, even for former orthodontic patients. This phenomenon is called mesial drift. Over decades of using our teeth for normal things like eating and talking, they rub against each other enough to gradually wear away some of their widths. They slowly begin to scoot closer together and push towards the front of the mouth. This is one reason older adults may need braces too, and an excellent reason to keep wearing your retainers!

Bring Us Your Crooked Teeth Questions!

No matter what has been causing your orthodontic issues, make sure to bring them to the straight smile professionals. We can get you the straight smile you deserve. We look forward to meeting you at your consultation!

Are you imagining the before and after pictures yet? We are!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

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Patient reviews

EVERY SMILE TELLS A SPECIAL STORY

We are thankful for the opportunity to serve our community with excellent care and take pride in our mission of having a patient-centered philosophy. Check out what our patients are saying about us!

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Sara L.
Homes and Palmer have taken care of all four of my children and giving them beautiful straight teeth!! I appreciate the time, effort and love they put into their patients! We are grateful to them and their dedication to being fabulous orthodontists!
Sara L.
Homes and Palmer have taken care of all four of my children and giving them beautiful straight teeth!! I appreciate the time, effort and love they put into their patients! We are grateful to them and their dedication to being fabulous orthodontists!
Meghan D.
My son has been a patient for over 2 years and has had nothing but excellent care and communication. We are excited to start the braces journey this month.
Meghan D.
My son has been a patient for over 2 years and has had nothing but excellent care and communication. We are excited to start the braces journey this month.
Rebecca M.
Everyone was very friendly, answered all questions, and very efficient! Gave us all the information we needed for this experience.
Sara W.
We are thrilled with the service at Holmes & Palmer Orthodontics! My son got his braces on a few months ago, and the entire process was seamless. The initial consult was extremely informative. The process of getting them on was efficient; they made sure he was comfortable and knew what was happening with each step. 10/10 - highly recommend
Sara W.
We are thrilled with the service at Holmes & Palmer Orthodontics! My son got his braces on a few months ago, and the entire process was seamless. The initial consult was extremely informative. The process of getting them on was efficient; they made sure he was comfortable and knew what was happening with each step. 10/10 - highly recommend
Gail B.
The entire staff is stellar. I had been told previously that my bottom teeth could not be corrected, but Dr. Palmer took a second look and is going to try. Makes me very happy.
Gail B.
The entire staff is stellar. I had been told previously that my bottom teeth could not be corrected, but Dr. Palmer took a second look and is going to try. Makes me very happy.
Kimberly N.
We moved to WV FROM NC and were worried about finding a orthodontist to pick up where we left off, and Dr.Palmer and Dr.Homes made us feel so welcome and comfortable.
We are thankful!
Kimberly N.
We moved to WV FROM NC and were worried about finding a orthodontist to pick up where we left off, and Dr.Palmer and Dr.Homes made us feel so welcome and comfortable.
We are thankful!
Jennifer P.
They are the best. So friendly and nice. My daughter never dreads her visits. They also make it very fun with a brace bucks program. Highly recommend!
Jennifer P.
They are the best. So friendly and nice. My daughter never dreads her visits. They also make it very fun with a brace bucks program. Highly recommend!
jellyfish53
Quick and efficient service from entire staff. Convenient location and courteous staff, from doctors to the dental assistants to the office staff. Makes orthodontic work enjoyable (well, almost)!
jellyfish53
Quick and efficient service from entire staff. Convenient location and courteous staff, from doctors to the dental assistants to the office staff. Makes orthodontic work enjoyable (well, almost)!
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