Why Do Teeth Shift Over Time? Causes and Solutions
(Part 2)
A Closer Look at the Potential Causes of Teeth Shifting
Let’s now discuss the specific causes of tooth shifting and what to expect from them. A host of factors can change how your teeth are positioned, including multiple factors working at the same time.
- Aging: Your jawbone might change as you grow older, leading to a shift in teeth position due to the natural movement of the surrounding structures supporting them, which includes your jaw. The role age plays in the shifting of teeth is a major one. As people like you and me age, they’re known to have their teeth moving slightly forward in their mouth. The aging process usually compels your front teeth to crowd together, thus making it difficult to floss between them. These teeth might also become crooked as they end up pressing against each other for good measure.
- Jawbone Changes: Speaking of jawbone changes, there are other ways to alter your jawbone over time aside from aging. You could suffer from osteoporosis or an accident involving blunt-force trauma and so forth.This naturally causes teeth shifting as well because it’s a direct structural change that directly affects the structural foundations of your teeth.
- Gum Disease: Gum disease can cause inflammation and damage to the tissues that support teeth, leading to teeth loosening and shifting when all is said and done, so observe regular oral hygiene to avoid this.
- Tooth Loss or Extraction: Have you ever lost teeth? Tooth loss can lead to structural changes in the jaw (again) that cause teeth shifting to compensate for free space. When you have a missing tooth, the surrounding teeth can move into the gap to fill it out. Or they can even crowd together, leading to some form or another of misalignment that requires correction. The loss of a tooth is the perfect opportunity for teeth to shift due to the extra legroom (or perhaps “root-room”) because there aren’t adjacent teeth holding them into their default position.
- Conditions and Vices: Certain vices can cause teeth shifting, such as smoking, or consuming copious amounts of alcohol. Meanwhile, acid reflux causing acid erosion can lead to shifting teeth due to layer-by-layer enamel removal.
- Teeth Grinding (Bruxism): Some people tend to grind their teeth at nighttime while they sleep, sometimes enough to wear away the outer enamel layer and expose the middle dentin layer. The significant pressure exerted on the teeth and jaw by all the constant clenching and grinding can definitely cause shifting as well. They need to wear mouthguards before sleeping to curb such tendencies.
- Certain Oral Habits: If you have some bad oral habits like improperly using certain tools like the toothbrush or thumb-sucking by children can cause the affected teeth to shift (like front teeth protrusions care of the thumb’s exertions).
- Genetics: Some people are simply genetically inclined to have their teeth shift because genetics influence teeth and jaw size and their likelihood of shifting positions over time. With that in mind, did you know that the whole branch of dentistry known as orthodontics is all about gradually repositioning the teeth and jaw? It really takes advantage of the malleability of dental support structures.
- Orthodontic Relapse: This is when after getting braces and realigning your teeth, the same teeth might continue to shift and return to their original positions. This is why you wear retainers to retain their shape—to avoid relapse.
- Hormonal Changes: Teeth shifting can also be influenced by hormonal changes. For example, if the patient is pregnant, hormone relaxation is produced more. This hormone is known to loosen or relax ligaments. While ligament relaxation is needed for the bodily changes involved in a woman’s body to make way for the baby, this hormone can also affect the teeth’s periodontal ligaments. Gum blood flow is also affected by such hormone fluxes.
- How You Lie Down While Sleeping: Even your position while sleeping can make you susceptible to shifting teeth. Those who lie on their stomach are likelier to experience a change in their teeth positioning compared to those who lie on their back or their side.