Shifting teeth are no laughing matter. After all, they can lead to crooked smiles if left untreated! That said, getting an idea of why the issue is happening is crucial. When you have that knowledge, your dentist in San Antonio can devise a treatment that works for you. Fortunately, your local dental practice can help you start this fact-finding journey. Read on to learn common causes of teeth shifting and how dental treatment can fix the problem.
Common Causes of Teeth Shifting
While teeth naturally shift over time, they do so for a wide variety of reasons. Some of them include the following:
Jaw Movement
As it turns out, jawbones shift forward throughout a person’s life. In some cases, though, this process can cause lower teeth to push upper teeth out of place. The latter then become misaligned, thus altering your bite and causing even more teeth to shift.
Tooth Grinding
Grinding your teeth doesn’t just wear them down. It can also make them move due to the sheer force involved. The habit is often unconscious, too, so many patients don’t recognize its role in their shifting bites.
Tooth Loss
The spaces left by missing teeth shift your other ones through lateral or vertical movement. As a result, a gapped smile is often a crooked one as well. In fact, these types of shifts can lead to further tooth loss.
Tongue Thrusting
Even tongue placement while swallowing can trigger tooth movement. One example is the tongue thrust, which is when you push the tongue against your chompers while you swallow, speak or rest. Said thrust generates a force that creates a gap between forward upper and lower teeth.
How Can Dental Treatments Help?
Your dentist in San Antonio has treatments that correct shifting teeth. In particular, the best ones are:
- Invisalign – Using clear aligning trays, Invisalign can move and straighten crooked teeth. They’d shift your pearly whites right where they should be in just a year!
- Porcelain Veneers – Using clear aligning trays, Invisalign can move and straighten crooked teeth. They’d shift your pearly whites right where they should be in just a year!
If you notice your teeth shifting, see your local dentist right away. They’ll find what’s causing the problem and give it an effective fix.
About the Practice
Brice Dental is based in San Antonio, TX. As led by the titular Dr. Zachary Brice, our practice offers warm and comprehensive dental care. To that end, we perform a range of preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatments, as well as emergency procedures. Our office is also a certified provider of both dental sedation and Invisalign clear aligners! For more information or to book an appointment, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (210)-903-5565.