Misaligned teeth in children can be confusing for a lot of parents, so here are some of the common causes for your child’s crooked teeth!
A lot of parents wonder why certain children have perfectly straight teeth and others simply don’t, and this subsequently leads to a lot of questions about preventing crooked teeth altogether. There’s no denying that the causes for dental misalignments can be confusing, which is why you should always put your trust in experienced specialists who can help you identify what exactly is leading to specific malocclusions and crooked teeth.
Below we’ll be going into the more intricate details about some of the common causes of crooked teeth in children that parents should know about!
What Exactly Causes Crooked Teeth?
This just so happens to be a very common question that we receive during initial consultations with parents and their children, and it’s important to understand that the underlying need for orthodontic treatment is unique for everyone.
Some of the most common causes for dental crowding and crooked teeth include the following:
Genetics
For the vast majority of young patients, the need for treatment is simply genetic. If one or both parents had crooked teeth growing up, then there’s a high likelihood that the couple’s children will also have crooked teeth. There of course are so many different types of common malocclusions out there like overbites/underbites and open bites/crossbites, and many of these issues are the result of jaw positioning and overall size.
Teeth and jaw size are always determined genetically, but they don’t necessarily match genetically for everyone. This can mean that a child can receive a smaller jaw size from one parent and larger teeth from the other, which then creates a genetic equation for dental crowding.
Oral Habits
Some of the most problematic oral habits that end up posing impacts for a young child’s orthodontic development include prolonged pacifier usage and thumb sucking. This is especially problematic if a child continues these types of habits when their permanent teeth are erupting.
Thumb or pacifier sucking can subsequently lead to a child exerting an added amount of pressure behind their front teeth, which then changes the physical configuration of their palate over long periods of time. This then can lead to oral health issues like protruding teeth, among other malocclusions.
Losing Baby Teeth Too Early
A child’s baby teeth, or primary teeth, are actually very important for their overall oral development. It sometimes seems like it’s not a big deal when a child loses a baby tooth a bit too early because it of course was going to eventually fall out on its own, but this actually can initiate a troubling ripple effect that impacts speech/facial development, chewing functionality, and saving space for permanent teeth to properly erupt.
So when a baby tooth is lost prematurely, it’s important for parents to consider a space maintainer to prevent the other teeth from shifting into this new gap. When baby teeth do in fact grow into these inadvertent oral gaps, it often leads to improper permanent teeth eruption and crowding.
Oral Trauma
When a young kid experiences any kind of dental injury like a blow to their mouth while placing sports, it’ll always be possible for teeth to become displaced. When these types of displacements are left untreated, it can lead to one or more teeth becoming crooked and shifting other teeth to accommodate the impacted area.
Neglecting Missing Permanent Teeth
A lot of children may lose a permanent tooth at a young age due to severe tooth decay, periodontal disease, a health condition, a physical injury or many other scenarios. However, whenever someone loses a permanent tooth, it’s absolutely critical to replace the tooth with a restoration like a dental bridge or an implant.
This is important because it’s similar to when a young child prematurely loses one of their baby teeth due to the missing permanent tooth subsequently catalyzing shifts into the empty space. This slowly but surely creates negative changes in an individual’s bite and can lead to crooked teeth.
Natural Aging
As kids get older, it’s always possible that their teeth will continue to shift naturally. This is one of the reasons why we always recommend retainer usage after your treatment ends to maintain overall results, because relapses most certainly are possible when retainers aren’t regularly worn.
And if your child hasn’t yet received orthodontic treatment, there’s still a high likelihood that their orthodontic issues will only get worse as they reach middle school and high school ages.
Reach Out To Us Online To Connect With The JK Orthodontics Team Today!
All of us at JK Orthodontics understand how important oral health is for children and teenagers, and how concerning crooked teeth can be for parents. The good news is that you don’t need to worry about crooked teeth impacting your child’s oral health development when you partner up with renowned experts like Dr. Karpac for orthodontic treatment like braces or Line-M-Up™ invisible aligners.
Reach out to us online or call us at 614-766-0330 (Dublin office) or 614-471-6355 (Gahanna office) to connect with our team and schedule your consultation with Dr. Karpac today!