Crowded Teeth

There are a variety of different reasons and theories as to why teeth come through crowded. Very often teeth are of a fairly similar size from person to person however the size of people changes significantly. Some people also have underdeveloped jaws, in these people the bones of the top or bottom jaw can be less well developed and therefore the teeth have less space to occupy.

This is particularly noticeable in people with sticking out top teeth – if they have an underdeveloped lower jaw, it’s not actually the top teeth that stick out it’s the lower jaw which is retruded, this lower jaw, because it is smaller, is therefore far more likely to have crowded lower teeth.

Another reason is wisdom teeth. In years gone by, when humans ate a raw vegetable diet they needed more back teeth to grind down the vegetables in order to predigested them before swallowing. As humans have evolved and out diet and cooking methods have changed our jaws have shrunk… However we still often have that last tooth in our mouth which still comes through… And they’re often just isn’t room.

When the wisdom tooth forces its way through, it can them push all of the teeth in front of it to make them look crowded.

It is indeed possible to floss  with crowded teeth, you may find conventional floss rather than a water floss/pick is easier to use as you can threaded between your teeth and then move it up and down in between where they are crooked.

It is however far more difficult to clean crowded teeth with floss which is why straighter teeth are often provide from an oral health point of view.

It can be more difficult to floss in between crowded teeth.

People like to have straighter teeth for different reasons, very often people like to resolve crowded teeth for cosmetic reasons, straighter teeth simply look better than crowded teeth.

as well as the cosmetic reasons to straighten crowded teeth there is also a hygiene reason.

Most people find it relatively straightforward to clean the front surface, the inside surface and the biting surfaces of their teeth. However cleaning in between teeth can be rather more difficult. This is where loss and interdental brushes come into play.

Cleaning between your teeth is incredibly important as this is where bacteria can hide, if they are not cleaned away then they excrete acid as they digests the food in your mouth and this acid can attack your teeth causing dental decay.

The problem with crowded teeth is that it can be difficult to get the floss or interdental brush in the teeth, therefore making crowded teeth more difficult to clean them straight teeth – and therefore more likely to have decay.

Crowded teeth can cause a range of issues related to pain, sometimes this pain is experienced by the teeth themselves, other times it is deferred pain to the jaw joint and surrounding musculature.

Crowded teeth can also result in pain caused by dental decay, crowded teeth are often more difficult to clean than straight teeth meaning the overlapping areas have a higher risk of developing tooth decay.

It is also possible that because crowded teeth are not meeting together in the way they are designed this causes a malocclusion. A malocclusion can then mean that the jaw joint is not working quite as it should because the teeth are not in the correct place to guide the biting movement. This can then result in jaw joint pain which can further lead to headaches.

Very simply put, braces work by applying pressure to teeth to move them in the desired direction. The only thing that changes between each brace system is the way that pressure is applied.

Invisalign clear braces can straighten crowded teeth by applying gentle pressure using clear aligner.

Fixed braces systems such as white braces, ceramic braces, lingual braces or Damon braces use a bracket which is bonded to the teeth.  A wire is then attached to these brackets.

The archwire is manufactured in such a way that it always wants to return to be a straight line, your orthodontist will attach the wire and brackets to your teeth and because the wire has a continuous pressure to be straight, it will then move your teeth into that straight line over a period of time.