Listen to Your Dentist When They Recommend Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Although you may not consider it a serious concern, if your teenager's dentist suggests treatment for overcrowded teeth, you shouldn't dismiss it. Two common signs of overcrowding include crooked teeth and teeth that stick out beyond where most of the teeth sit. Here's a look at what you should know about tooth overcrowding, the reason it is a concern, and your options to address it.

What Causes Dental Overcrowding?

Overcrowding usually doesn't happen until your child's adult teeth start coming in. When those teeth start to work their way in, sometimes they are too large for his or her existing jaw line. If it doesn't adapt quickly enough, or at all, it often leads to tight, uneven teeth. In some cases, the adult teeth come in correctly, but wisdom tooth eruption shift those teeth slightly, causing crowding. Since teeth will naturally adapt and shift into whichever direction will best allow them to grow, your child may experience overcrowding at any time from the point when adult teeth start growing in to the time that wisdom teeth either erupt or are extracted.

Why Would the Dentist Be Concerned?

You may find yourself wondering why your child's dentist is concerned about a tooth or two being crowded. The truth is, it's about more than just appearances. Any time teeth are crowded, it creates small spaces where food particles can hide, which contributes to tooth decay because you can't easily brush those spaces. Uneven teeth also increase the risks of uneven tooth wear and an altered bite. If the tooth crowding changes your child's bite, that can even lead to trouble chewing comfortably.

How Can You Treat Dental Overcrowding?

Overcrowded teeth are usually treated with the application of braces. Those braces will push the teeth back into their proper alignment through a gradual process. The slow correction is essential because it helps the jaw line adapt for a long-term fix. If your child is struggling with a tooth that's pushing all of the others out, your dentist may need to extract the problem tooth in order to make room for the rest to settle in. Extractions are most commonly required when the problem is caused by wisdom teeth. If your child has a wisdom tooth that's impacted, that may be extracted as well to avoid a future problem.

While overcrowding in your child's mouth is a cosmetic concern, it's also something you should take seriously. If your child has overcrowding teeth, talk with a dentist, such as Carolina Forest Family Dentistry, to find out what your options are.