Crooked and crowded teeth — what dentists call “malocclusion” — refer to the unfavorable alignment of your teeth. Although crooked teeth usually don’t limit the day-to-day function of your smile, over time they can cause some dental issues, including…
Increased wear on enamel
Weakening of your teeth
Chips and breaks
Jaw pain
Tooth decay
Crooked teeth can negatively affect an individual’s self-esteem. It can cause people to not smile as often, be less social, avoid public speaking, struggle in the workplace, and have social anxiety. If you have crooked teeth — even if they aren’t currently causing any dental health problems — fixing them is important. You deserve to regain your confidence and well-being!
Do Crooked Teeth Get Worse With Age?
If it feels like your misaligned, overlapping teeth just keep getting worse with time, you’re not imagining it!
As you age, the density of your jaw bone can slowly reduce and shrink in size — especially if you’re dealing with missing teeth or poor oral health. The result is a disparity between the size of your jawbone and your teeth, which can cause or exacerbate crowding and overlapping.
It’s just one more reason why you must maintain your oral health as you get older!
There are some situations where replacing a tooth may not be necessary. For example, if you have a tooth removed to address a crowded jaw. Wisdom teeth are also often removed to improve your health.
However, in most cases, replacing your tooth is very important:
You’re at increased risk of losing even more teeth.
Neighboring teeth will shift and reposition.
You’ll likely develop gum disease.
The rest of your teeth become weaker, leading to chips and cracks.
Many people have a problem with clenching or grinding their teeth — particularly while sleeping. This phenomenon is officially known as bruxism, and it’s an involuntary but detrimental issue that affects your smile and health.
Why do people grind their teeth?
Age
Bruxism is most common in young people but can affect all ages
Stress and anxiety
High levels of stress are one of the most common causes of teeth grinding
Family history
Bruxism often runs in the family, ask your if this is the case
Medication and Health
Those with sleep apnea or one certain medication are more likely to grind their teeth.
Is it bad to grind your teeth?
We always recommend seeking professional advice and treatment to stop bruxism. Why? Left untreated, the enamel on your teeth can wear away. Enamel is the hardest tissue in the body, but it cannot be naturally regenerated. Once you lose it, you’re at increased risk of problems like tooth sensitivity, decay, chips, and cracks.
What are the signs of bruxism?
Toothaches
TMJ pain
Tooth sensitivity
Worn enamel
Tooth decay
Gum recession
How do you stop grinding your teeth?
Talk to Dr. Stowell and ask about getting a custom dental appliance
Neuromodulator therapy (botox)
Treat any sleep breathing disorders or TMJthat may be causing the issue
Massage your jaw muscles right before bed
Try meditation, yoga, or counseling to limit stress and anxiety
Relax your jaw muscles whenever you notice yourself clenching
Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, is a remarkably common bacterial infection that causes pockets around the base of the teeth to form, impacts the structures that support your teeth, and can lead to bone loss if left untreated.
If you’re experiencing symptoms such as persistent bad breath, bleeding or inflamed gums, toothaches, loose teeth, or pain while chewing, then you could be dealing with gum disease. Regardless of the stage of infection, it’s important that you seek help from an experienced gum disease dentist.
What causes gum disease?
Plaque buildup
The most common cause of gum disease is plaque buildup from improper or inconsistent oral care. Over time, bacteria in our mouths combine with other particles to form a sticky residue called “plaque” on the surface of our teeth.
Smoking
Being a smoker is a major risk factor for the development of gum disease, in part because people who smoke tend to produce more bacterial plaque. Smoking can also cause a lack of oxygen in the bloodstream, preventing the infected gums from healing normally.
Other risk factors
While poor dental hygiene and smoking are the most common causes of gum disease, other factors can play a role. These include diabetes, genetic factors, medications that cause diminished saliva production, chronic stress, and hormonal changes in girls and women.
How to prevent gum disease.
Prevention is the best way to ward off gum disease and maintain general oral health. Luckily, with the right lifestyle changes and a knowledgeable gum disease dentist, preventing gum disease is possible even for those at high risk. In the majority of cases, practicing regular dental care both at home and in our office can help you prevent gum disease and improve your oral well-being.
Some of the steps you can take to avoid developing periodontal disease include:
Adopting daily oral hygiene habits by brushing, flossing, and using a gentle mouthwash.
Visiting our office at least twice a year for an exam and professional cleaning.
Avoiding smoking and keeping a healthy, balanced diet.
Keeping an eye out for potential symptoms of gingivitis (early-stage gum disease).
What is the treatment for gum disease?
Treating gum disease involves thoroughly removing infected tissue and excess plaque and tartar and cleaning any pockets that have formed in your gums. Our team is dedicated to providing care that addresses your specific concerns and anxieties, and we will help you develop an individualized plan that works for you.
Is treatment still effective for severe cases?
Yes! Even patients with extensive damage due to periodontal disease can restore their oral health with the right treatment plan. In these extreme cases, a high-tech surgical approach can remove damaged tissue and even stimulate bone growth.
If you don’t have confidence in the look of your teeth, it can be hard to have confidence in yourself. A common source of self-consciousness for many patients is the color of their teeth. Be it due to genetics or lifestyle, stained teeth are common. Fortunately, with teeth whitening treatments, a brighter smile you love is just an appointment away.
Bad Habits That Are Preventing You from Having Bright White Smile
Coffee, tea, tobacco, or red wine are common culprits that discolor teeth over time. But these aren’t actually what cause staining. The real problem is that it’s impossible to thoroughly rinse off a chemical called lipofuscin from your teeth after eating or drinking one of these foods, which over time leads to dark stains on your teeth.
Most toothaches result from tooth decay. Following good oral hygiene practices drastically lowers the chances of experiencing tooth pain. Flossing and brushing your teeth every day and going to the dentist for regular dental checkups and teeth cleaning services keeps your teeth clean and healthy. Eating less sugary or sticky foods can also help.
Why do teeth hurt so much?
Even though your tooth looks and feels hard, the pulp inside the tooth is filled with nerves, tissues, and blood vessels. Those nerves are extremely sensitive; when they are irritated by bacteria or infections, they can cause severe pain.
Do your teeth hurt?
Toothaches are no fun. When something is wrong with your tooth (or teeth), you may feel sharp, throbbing, or constant pain in or around a tooth. In some instances, patients feel discomfort only when pressure is applied to the painful tooth.
If you’re experiencing symptoms such as a fever, a headache, any kind of tooth pain, or foul-tasting drainage from the infected tooth, consult a dentist immediately. However, regardless of whether it’s just a single, sharp jolt of pain upon pressure, or a long-lasting, dull pain in the mouth, it’s important to seek help from our experienced and professional dentist.
What causes toothaches?
Cavities are by far the most common causes of toothaches. When substances such as sugary tidbits stay on your teeth, they begin to work away at the enamel surrounding your teeth, drilling a hole that grows deeper as time goes on. Poor oral hygiene habits contribute to cavities, which leads to tooth pain.
An abscessed tooth refers to an infection inside the tooth, and occurs when a cavity reaches the center of your tooth (the soft “pulp chamber), or after a tooth is chipped or damaged in some other way. This can result in:
Swollen gums
An infected root
Bone loss at the site of the infection
Severe pain inside the mouth
Other Risk Factors
While cavities and tooth infections remain the most common causes of toothache, they are not the only contributors. Gum disease, injury/trauma to the tooth, the emergence of wisdom teeth, teeth grinding/bruxism, and having an abnormal bite can all contribute to debilitating tooth pain.
Ignoring your toothache? Here’s why that’s not a good idea:
Tooth pain is a signal to your body that something is wrong with your teeth.
Oral health issues such as an abscessed tooth or a cavity will not get better on their own.
Waiting to address a problem often leads to more pain and larger, more expensive treatments.
In general, you can expect a permanent dental crown to last 10 years or more – but that’s not always the case. Some crown materials are more susceptible to damage than others, and accidents can happen. Even the highest quality crowns may crack or become loose and fall off if they’re under enough stress.
If your crown falls out and you’re able to find it, hold onto it and contact us right away. In most cases, if the crown is in good condition, we can simply re-secure it for you. If you can’t find it or there’s damage to the crown itself, don’t worry! We will make you a new one.
Accidents happen, biting into something hard, falling down, or sporting accidents, and unfortunately are teeth are not invincible. Wither it’s a chip in the front of the mouth or the back, you should seek to get the tooth/teeth examined ASAP before further breaking occurs or pain gets worse.
Depending on the location of the chip, which tooth, long term outcome, and how big of a chip will determine the best treatment option to fix the chipped tooth.
Have you been told you snore, keep others up at night, or feel fatigued during the day, not feeling fully rested after a night’s sleep? Ask about our options to eliminate or reduce snoring.
Do you have sleep apnea? Do you use a CPAP machine? Ask about our sleep appliances available so you can cut the cord and ditch the CPAP machine
Please do not let fear or dental anxiety keep you from visiting us. Please speak with our team and let us know beforehand that you have dental anxiety. We take your fear seriously and take it to heart to treat you with tender, love and care and will do all we can to help you feel more comfortable in our office.
We offer Nitrous oxide gas to help relieve some anxiety, topical anesthetic prior to any injections, and local anesthesia to numb any area we are working on.
We will not perform any procedures or operate if you are feeling pain, you are in control every second during any procedure.