What is the Effect of Crooked Teeth on Children?
Everyone wants the best for their children. We love to have confident and happy kids, but this sometimes can be hindered by some factors. What if that factor is crooked teeth?
Yes, crooked teeth can wreck your child’s confidence and make her less able to smile and show off the joy as she would. This is why you must learn about crooked teeth and obtain a solution with Kids Braces in Battersea.
There are some essential things you should know about crooked teeth and the impact they can have on your child. We have provided them here for you.
What are the causes of crooked teeth?
Just like in permanent teeth, baby teeth can also be crooked. This closing up of the baby teeth to one another can lead to trauma, tooth decay and other issues for the child. However, the fact that the baby teeth are crooked does not mean that the permanent teeth will also be crooked when they come out.
Many reasons cause crooked teeth and among them are:
- Genetics and hereditary: kids may have crooked teeth if one or both of the parents has them too
- Poor myofunctional habits like mouth breathing, thumb-sucking
- Poor dental care and nutrition
- Misaligned jaw
- Facial injury in some cases
The effect of crooked teeth on children
Depending on the case, crooked teeth can cause complications and reduce the quality of your child’s life. This is because it can cause the child to feel pains when eating or affect her chewing abilities.
This aside, it can cause a severe impact on your child’s self-esteem and prevent her from smiling to hide the crooked teeth.
The effects of crooked teeth on children can be divided into two main categories: the psychological and physical effects.
Psychological effects
Do you wonder why your child smiles less and sometimes withdraws from peers? It could be because of their crooked teeth. Though this should not be such a big deal for children, they can experience mockery from their peers, this itself is a killer. Here, you may notice that the child will become more conscious of herself and asking questions about why her teeth are different from every other person.
Encouraging your child and telling her and giving her a subtle and meaningful explanation about her teeth will work well in this situation.
According to research, improving the physical look of your child’s teeth can help them build more confidence and improve their social interactions.
Physical effect
Apart from the self-confidence and unwillingness to smile, having crooked teeth can hinder a person from cleaning the teeth properly. It is already a challenging game getting children to brush their teeth properly, how will it now be when the teeth are crooked?
Straight teeth allow parts of the toothbrush to reach every nook and cranny, and also give fewer spaces and corners for the build-up of plaques.
With crooked teeth, your child may not be able to brush and floss adequately, and this will lead to poor oral hygiene. This in turn may lead to dental issues like tooth decay and the rest even when the child is still with baby teeth.
The following are the dental issues that may arise as a result of crooked teeth:
- Issues with speeches: with misaligned teeth, children may miss the exact articulation of a sound and have problems spelling words
- Periodontal disease: since crooked teeth are challenging to clean, bacteria and plaques will build-up thereby leading to tooth decay and gum disease. If this issue is not treated after sometime, it can lead to a more severe infection called periodontitis which damages the bone and teeth.
- Excess wear: crooked teeth cause excessive wear and tear on the jaw muscles, teeth, and gums, thereby resulting in cracked teeth, jaw strain, chronic headaches, etc.
- Problems with chewing and digestion: it is challenging to chew appropriately with crooked teeth, and this may cause digestion issues.
Summary
There is a solution for crooked teeth in children. When you notice your child has misaligned teeth, the first step to take is to book an appointment with a qualified orthodontist and go with your child to the visit.
