Have you noticed that your teeth are getting more crowded as you get older? And did you know that there’s a risk of this getting worse and things happening if you don’t treat it?

Hi, Dr Michael Ghobrial here from Sure Dental.

A common question I get asked by my patients is, “My teeth didn’t use to be this crowded… Why are they getting crowded with time?” And I guess today I thought I’ll do a video to help you understand why your teeth are getting crowded with age, and whether you should fix them?

Image of our patient

So we’re going to go through what are the reasons for crowding, and also what are the benefits for doing something or not doing something to fix it.

The first reason is genetics. We can’t beat our genes. In some people, their teeth will be more crowded than others. But we can contribute to that with our habits. For example, as a child who sucked their thumb, it narrows their palate and it can cause considerable tooth crowding. 

But one of the biggest causes is actually as we age, as we get older, unfortunately, our lower jaw shrinks. Our jaw actually reaches its maximum size when we’re about age 16 and only gets smaller from there. And so our teeth do tend towards crowding with time.

Now, some of the risks associated with this actually gum can recede and it also can get very difficult to clean your teeth. I used to have very overlapping lower teeth myself and I, even as a dentist, would miss flossing one of my teeth because of that crowding.

And so what are the benefits of dealing with it?

Well, one of them is actually your teeth are easier to clean when they’re straight, and that helps keep healthy gums. 

But I’ll be honest, the biggest benefit for me was actually being confident with my smile. Having the smile you want to show, that you’re proud to show, and I wished I did it much sooner.

So if you want to look at what your options are for straightening your teeth, why don’t you visit our website at suredental.com.au, will in the enquiry form, or give us a call on 07 3256 9111 and we can organise a complimentary smile consultation for you.

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