Dental Care: Habits That Misalign Your Teeth And That You Should Avoid
by Felecia Butler
Teeth appearance bears an effect on an individual's self-esteem. Misaligned teeth in particular can deny you a good time with friends, because you may be afraid to open your mouth too often or too wide. Fortunately, misalignment can be easily corrected with braces, and in extreme cases, surgery. But did you know that some alignment problems such as overbite are born out of pretty common avoidable habits?
Types of Teeth Misalignments
Before checking out on the habits, here are the types of misalignments they cause:
Class 1 Malocclusion - This type is characterized by a normal bite and a slight overlap of the upper teeth on the lower teeth.
Class 2 Malocclusion - This type of misalignment is also known as overbite or retrognathism. It is characterized by a severe overlap of the upper teeth on the lower teeth.
Class 3 Malocclusion - Also known as prognathism or underbite, it is characterized by the protrusion of the lower jaw, which causes the lower teeth to overlap the upper teeth.
Habits That Cause Misalignment
There are different reasons for teeth misalignment, and unfortunately, there are those that you can't control such as age. Age plays a role in misalignment in that when you grow old, the area between each tooth wears away naturally. The bottom teeth are thinner than the upper and wear out faster. Therefore, shifting occurs gradually when you bite down on food.
However, you can easily control or avoid habits that misalign your teeth. These common habits include:
Teeth grinding and jaw clenching - These habits are common among people who are stressed. When your grind your teeth or clench your jaw, you add pressure on them. With time, it forces your upper or lower teeth to misalign.
Thumb sucking - It is rare to find an adult who still sucks his or her thumb, but the same cannot be said for a child. The teeth of a child develop as the child grows old, and due to this, habits such as thumb sucking can distort the normal arrangement of the child's teeth. If your child is still an infant, consider letting him or her suck a pacifier. Even though it is not better than a thumb, it is easier to control. For a child who is above 5 years of age, try to explain the risks of thumb sucking and offer rewards if the child stops the habit.
Breathing with the mouth - If you like to breathe through the mouth, especially while sleeping, you need to stop. Breathing through the mouth deforms your upper jaw, elongating the jaw with time. In the end, it causes an overbite.
Teeth misalignment can also be as a result of hereditary factors. Therefore, it is a good idea to check your background first before commencing on treatment. And if you find your genetic make-up as the sole reason of your teeth misalignment, mentioning your findings to your dentist may help him or her determine the best course of action.