3 Problems Crooked Teeth Create Overtime

Hi, Dr Mike Anderson from Allstar Orthodontics here.

Yesterday, I saw a new patient, Amelia, a lovely lady who lives just a few blocks from our clinic in Albany Creek. She is in her mid-twenties, and her lower front teeth were crowded, so she decided to do something about them, that’s why she came to see us. She said to me… “I’ve got crooked teeth. If it’s not hurting. Why would I need to straighten them? Does it cause me any problems in the long run?”

So I thought I’ll share with you what I told her in this video.

1. One of the main concerns with crooked teeth is the appearance. People become concerned about how they look. Sometimes with crowded teeth, they can start becoming more crowded over time. We notice this especially with lower teeth, that once they start crowding, that crowding does increase. It is quite gradual, but over a period of years, the teeth can become more rotated and overlapping. With crowded or crooked teeth, people feel less confidence in smiling, and they tend to hide their smile.
2. The other problem with teeth that are not straight is that it can often be hard to clean. It is easier for food to get caught between rotated teeth, and it can be harder to clean your teeth because they’re overlapping and they’re not straight. It can be difficult to get your toothbrush around the teeth and into the areas you need to. It also can be quite tight between the teeth and hard to get dental floss in. So if you’re not able to clean your teeth adequately, this may lead to gum disease or decay, and reduces the longevity of your teeth. This can cause more problems in the future.
3. The third problem crooked teeth can cause is accelerated wearing of your teeth. One of the benefits of straightening teeth is that they’re in the best position to give you the best function when you are eating. It also helps prevent abnormal wear of the teeth. Sometimes when teeth are not aligned properly, the edges of the teeth can be wearing more than they should be.

This is why often you see that in older people, the length of the teeth starts reducing. Crooked teeth can wear away the edges of the teeth faster. The cost to fix worn out teeth with treatments such as dental crowns or dental veneers can be substantial.

So to summarise the 3 main problems with crooked teeth are one, the impact to your appearance, two, the potential gum disease and decay because of the difficulty in cleaning, and three, the accelerated wearing of the teeth, because they’re not in the best position.

I hope this video gave you a better understanding of the problems associated with crooked teeth. If you are experiencing this and want to do something about it, if you live or work in Brisbane, we would love to look after you.

We are conveniently located in both Fortitude Valley and Albany Creek. Simply give us a call, complete the enquiry form on the website, or send us a direct message on social media, and we will help you organise an appointment that is closest to you. See you in the next video!