Hi, this is Dr. Chan at Crown Dentistry. Today, we're going to be talking about crowded teeth. We've been getting a lot of questions about this subject, so hopefully, we'll be able to answer some of your questions about what that situation is, a little bit more detail about it, and how we can fix it.
What causes crowded teeth and how does it affect my oral health?
So a lot of times, crowded teeth are simply a result of your own genetics as a patient, basically, how you were born. Some people were born with bigger teeth, some people were born with smaller teeth. Tooth size is one factor in determining if a patient has tooth crowding or not. Another factor that plays a large part in this is jaw size. Some people have bigger jaws, some people have smaller jaws. For the most part, if jaw size and tooth size tend to match up, people will have little to no crowding. A lot of times, what we see more instances of crowding are when people have, for example, bigger teeth but their jaws are just little. It doesn't mean that it's the end of the world or anything; it just means that potentially we have to look at options to maybe help them manage that better.
Is there a difference between mild, moderate, and severe teeth crowding?
We like to figure out a way to put people in different categories for how bad their crowding is, if they have any crowding at all. Mild crowding tends to mean that there's one tooth involved, moderate means that there's two to three teeth involved, and severe is anything that involves more than three teeth. For the most part, all of these things can be treated with orthodontics, which is the area of dentistry that involves the alignment and movement of your teeth and your jaws. Most of you probably know that this can be accomplished either through the use of braces or through the use of aligner technology, such as Invisalign.
How is the crowding from the bottom teeth different from the upper teeth?
Patients can have crowding on their top teeth, their bottom teeth, or both. We have to take into consideration a few different things depending on if the crowding is on the top or the bottom. A lot of times on the bottom, we have to be careful not to move the teeth too quickly, too aggressively, or too far forward because that can result in a loss of bone and gum support around the front of the teeth. If we're not careful, we can potentially push the teeth out through the front of the jaw. Obviously, we would take all the steps to make sure that that doesn't happen, but that is definitely something that needs to be considered when undergoing orthodontic treatment.
What are the treatment options for fixing crowded teeth?
As we mentioned earlier in the video, one of the biggest ways that we like to work on fixing crowded teeth is through the use of orthodontic treatment. One way is through braces, which is the placement of metal and/or ceramic brackets and wires on your teeth. Another way is through the use of Invisalign, which is a series of clear plastic trays that you as the patient will change out every one to two weeks.
Personally, which one do you like better to fix crowded teeth, braces or Invisalign?
So here at Crown Dentistry, we largely use Invisalign, which is a series of clear plastic trays. I tend to like that better personally because of a few things. One, it's a lot easier to clean your teeth with aligner trays. With braces, those brackets and wires are stuck on your teeth, and it can be extremely challenging to clean out food and debris from around, underneath, and above these brackets and wires. With the aligner trays, we pretty much tell our patients to take out the trays and then just brush and floss their teeth like they would normally do before they have the trays in. That's one big reason why I like the aligners. Also, they're a little bit less conspicuous, especially when you're wearing them out and about. We do tell our patients that you should be wearing your trays for 22 hours a day, which means you're going to wear them outside, so they'll be in your mouth and they'll be visible, but at the same time, they're definitely going to be a lot less visible than someone who has brackets and wires in their mouth from traditional braces.
How long does it take to correct severe teeth crowding, and what should I expect from before and after the treatment?
The time period that's required for orthodontic treatment will definitely depend on a few things. One is the severity of the crowding. Sometimes people only have a few teeth that need to be corrected. In those cases, a lot of times we can make their teeth straight and in the position that they want within 6 to 8 months. If more teeth are involved and/or if we're trying to align the top jaw and the bottom jaw in a better relationship with each other, that may take longer. Sometimes we'll have patients in treatment for up to 2 to 3 years.
What happens if crowded teeth are left untreated?
One of the biggest problems of crowded teeth is that they're much harder to clean. That means that food, plaque, and calculus, which is hardened plaque, and bacteria will basically stay on your teeth, and if your teeth are crowded, it'll be a lot harder for you to clean them at home, either through brushing and flossing. If you're unable to clean your teeth as well as you should be, that can result in higher rates of gum disease, higher rates of cavity formation, and of course, all of those things are not what any of us wants.
Thank you so much for joining us on this video today about crowded teeth. I hope that I've answered some of your questions. If you have any other questions, please call our office at (916) 848-2145 or come to our website at www.crowndentistry.net. Thank you.