What are the causes of crooked teeth?
You’ll know you have crooked teeth if you see that your teeth aren’t aligned uniformly. You may even notice some of your teeth are even rotated in different directions.
Misaligned teeth can be caused when a person’s upper and lower jaws aren’t the same size. There can actually be various causes for misaligned teeth:
- Genetics: Most cases of crooked teeth are just inherited traits, much like how you inherit the colour of your eyes and hair. If you have a family history of crooked teeth, you’re more likely to have it too.
- Thumb sucking: Sucking your thumb, or using a pacifier regularly till the age of three can affect your teeth formation is a common cause of misalignment.
- Tongue thrusting: Tongue thrusting is when you press your tongue against your teeth. Over time, this habit can result in crooked teeth. It can also lead to an open bite, mouth breathing, and even difficulty in swallowing and chewing.
- Facial injury: To all you active folk, sport injuries can significantly affect your teeth alignment. As you’re healing, your upper and lower jaw can become deformed or mismatched, leading to — you’ve guessed it — crooked teeth!
Do I need to fix my crooked teeth?
For one, you may be feeling self-conscious because of your crooked teeth, and that’s perfectly okay! Everyone around us places a great deal of importance on symmetrical teeth and smiles, so it’s easy for those who have misalignments to feel unattractive and stigmatized.
But crooked teeth affect more than just your self-esteem. Misaligned teeth can also cause:
- Trouble chewing or biting
- Speech difficulties, like a lisp
- Difficulty in biting food properly
- Altered shape and appearance of face
What are some treatments for crooked teeth?
Orthodontic approaches to crooked teeth have come a long way. Alongside traditional metal braces are a range of newer methods, like clear aligners. But what are their main differences you might ask? Well we’ve got you covered:
Traditional/metal braces
Metal braces are one of the most common solutions to crooked teeth problems. But having metal braces is no walk in the park! Braces pop loose; wires draw blood. Oh, and all that time spent brushing and checking in with your orthodontist — not fun. And for adults especially, metal braces may make you feel like a teen all over again.
Invisible braces
Meet ‘invisible braces’, AKA ‘clear aligners’.
Imagine a clear, removable hard plastic wrapping around your teeth, pushing them into place. Because they are clear plastic, people will hardly notice you’ve got braces on. That’s exactly what invisible braces are, and you can thank Zia Chisti, the founder of Align Technology, for this genius invention!
The idea behind invisible braces is that a series of such aligners can shift teeth in a series of small movements. With invisible braces taking over the dental world by storm, you may ask if they are just a hype or if it’s truly worth investing in.
So, why should you use Zenyum?
We believe licensed dentists and orthodontists are still important for dental treatment. BUT, it is also important to make your journey with braces more convenient.
Not many will say “I love going to the dentist!” You only need to make time for absolutely necessary dental visits (average 2 – 3 appointments).
So few dentist visits? How is this even possible??
After a Zenyum patient does scans and Xrays in the dental clinic, a treatment plan will be produced with the dentists’ approval. Multiple sets of clear aligners (those plastic covers you wear over your teeth) are produced for your treatment.
Your teeth movements are done by continuously wearing different sets of clear aligners. You’ll be able to change these yourself in the comfort of your home. So, lesser dental visits are needed.
We even built an app for you to log in your teeth progress virtually and to keep in contact with our customer care team throughout your braces journey. Talk about being tech-savy!
How do I get started?
All you need to do is answer four questions and snap some pictures of your teeth. Pretty simple right?
This is part of our free assessment to determine your eligibility for invisible braces to save a trip (and money) to the dentist!
Interested to know more? Start by taking a free smile assessment today so we can have a chat on how Zenyum works for you!
