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Dental crowding is the amount of space a tooth needs to function correctly. For a healthy adult, the minimum space needed for an unerupted tooth is 2 mm. Unfortunately, most adults have a greater amount of variance than that. Without enough space, teeth can become exposed or develop crooked roots. Crowding is common in individuals who have either crowded teeth or rotten teeth. In these cases, root canals are often needed to save the tooth and prevent further damage.

Understanding what dental crowding means is important to understanding how it affects your oral health and facial appearance. Crowding occurs when teeth are too crowded in a person’s mouth. This can compromise the ability of your teeth to function correctly. It is also associated with several conditions, some of which can be severe and cause serious damage.

Crowding tends to occur when there is an improper amount of space in the mouth as well as a lack of wisdom teeth that would provide extra space for the other teeth to fit into.

What Causes Dental Crowding?

Tooth decay and overbite:

A defect in the jaw that allows for improper space between teeth often causes tooth crowding, commonly referred to as “overbite” or “under-bite”. Overbite can be fixed with orthodontics and under-bite is often fixed with jaw surgery.

Oral hygiene habits:

Proper oral hygiene habits are necessary for a healthy mouth and prevent dental crowding. To ensure a proper amount of space, brush your teeth at least three times per day (two minutes each time) using an instructive tooth brushing technique that helps prevent plaque buildup on the gum line and leads towards healthy gums.

Rotten teeth:

Rotten teeth are often the result of tooth decay, which is caused by food and plaque left behind in the mouth. When these materials start to rot, they cause inflammation that can affect all your teeth and cause crowding.

What are the symptoms of dental crowding?

Pain:

Excessive tooth pain is often a symptom of crowding, as teeth may be too small to fit together properly and cause significant discomfort in them.

Infection:

Crowded teeth can cause infections in the mouth due to complications with the way that they fit together, leading to pain and discomfort or even requiring root canals or other treatments to fix.

Damage:

Crowded teeth also can cause damage to the bones and gums in your mouth, creating areas of inflammation that can lead to serious infections.

What are the treatments for dental crowding?

Oral health care:

In order to prevent crowding from occurring, practicing good oral hygiene is important and encourages healthy teeth. In addition, some types of toothpaste and dental floss can aid in proper oral care.

Wisdom teeth extraction:

Up to 80% of people have an improper amount of wisdom teeth space in their mouth and may need to have them extracted for this reason. Wisdom teeth are the last molars growing in your mouth that typically start to make their appearance at age 17 but can occur at any time between the ages of 16 or 20. Most often, wisdom teeth don’t have adequate space to grow properly and are impacted, which means that they grow at a grinding angle. This can cause pain hospitalharrywilliams.org and infections in or near the wisdom teeth, as well as crowding of other teeth if they are allowed to remain.

Braces:

Orthodontics can be used to fix improper spacing caused by crowding. Braces are typically paired with wisdom teeth extractions, so that any remaining space is immediately reoccupied by the braces once the wisdom teeth have been removed. This prevents the crowding from occurring or getting worse, allowing the other teeth in the mouth to start to align more easily.

Invisalign:

Invisalign is a clear dental treatment option that adults and children alike can use. It is an alternative solution to braces that typically requires less time for the patient and results in a straighter smile after completion.

The simple easiest way to maintain a healthy mouth is by practicing good oral hygiene habits. There are many easy-to-do and simple tips that seniors can master for a healthy mouth. Though dental health is very important, it’s even more important to pay attention to the following factors: diet, stress, social interaction, home care and medications. All these things can either lead to or contribute to poor oral health since they all affect nutritional status.

Check the toothbrush:

People should have a toothbrush that is in good shape. The person should be replacing the toothbrush every three to four months or so and use a new one with every cold season. It’s also recommended to clean the brush at least twice a week and store it in an upright position.

Clean the tongue:

It’s suggested to clean the tongue of old food and debris with a toothbrush or a tongue scraper. A person could also use his/her finger to clean the tongue from saliva.

Maintaining proper dental hygiene is very important for a healthy lifestyle. The most important thing that one can do for his or her teeth and gums is to learn how to properly care for them.

Floss:

One of the most important aspects of dental hygiene is flossing. Flossing can help remove plaque and food particles from between a person’s teeth. It can also scrape bacteria off the teeth and gums. The dentist will show a person how to use dental floss properly, but some people do not know how difficult it is in certain areas to clean one’s teeth cipf-es.org properly.

Avoid Smoking:

The most important way that seniors can improve their oral health is to simply not smoke. By completely quitting smoking, a person can enjoy better and healthy teeth.

Avoid Alcohol:

Alcohol consumption can be very damaging to the mouth and teeth as well. It can change the pH balance of a person’s body, which can cause malady in his or her oral cavity. There are certain side effects that come along with drinking alcohol, such as dry mouth, bad breath, or tooth decay. Those who are trying to quit drinking should turn to other types of beverages instead of alcohol because they will not have the same results.

Watch out for Dry Mouth:

Dry mouth is one of the most common side effects of many medications and can lead to tooth decay, bad breath, and gum disease. In order to combat dry mouth, they recommend that seniors drink water throughout the day. It’s also important to not mix caloric drinks with acidic foods or drinks, as this may increase the risk of tooth decay over time. Lastly, some over-the-counter sugarless gum and hard candy can provide temporary relief from dry mouths.

Visit the Dentist Regularly:

In order to maintain a healthy mouth and gums, it is important to visit the dentist at least once a year. The dentist will examine the teeth and gums as well as x-ray for any signs of tooth decay or disease. If discovered, they can provide care such as fluoride treatments, dental sealants or fillings if needed.

Root canal treatment is a procedure that is used to remove the infected tissues from the roots of the tooth. This procedure helps in preventing and treating an infection in the teeth. Root canal treatments are recommended for patients who have severe tooth pain, especially those who experience early morning pain and whose pain persists after taking medication or having their teeth cleaned by a dental professional.

A typical root canal treatment lasts an hour or two and can be done on an outpatient basis with local anaesthesia and sedation or using general anaesthesia in a hospital operating room with monitoring equipment, such as an electrocardiogram machine. Although various methods of treatment have been used for many years to achieve successful results, the most used method today is the “filling” approach. 

During the filling technique, an internal instrument is inserted through the crown of the tooth and into the pulp chamber. The dentist then advances a small plastic or metal tube called a “curette” behind the infected tissue to clean it and shape it. If any teeth were removed, they are replaced, and permanent fillings are placed in the tooth. A root canal treatment can provide relief from pain for many years if successful.

However, it is not without risk. There is a possibility that the infected tooth or teeth could become infected again. If the canal filling is not properly created, it cannot be removed, and the tooth will have to have a root canal treatment again. Sometimes, bacteria can enter the inside of the tooth and cause an infection in the jawbone. Patients who are taking antibiotics should avoid root canal treatments for two to four weeks before starting treatment for their new bacterial infection. If a root canal treatment fails, there are two options. The first option is to remove the infected tooth and allow it to heal in place. If the tooth feels like it is going to fall out, it should be removed immediately. The second option is to perform a crown procedure instead of a root canal treatment. During this procedure, most of the tooth is removed and replaced with a crown that has an abscess cavity for the infected tooth. The patient’s existing teeth can be used for the crown.

The root canal treatment was developed to help the dental profession manage the number of root canal treatments needed to remove infected teeth. In the paradormirmejor.org past, it was common practice to remove an entire tooth when it became infected. If only one or two teeth were removed, a root canal treatment would be needed and all the other teeth in the mouth would be at risk of becoming infected.