Crooked Teeth: Your Straightening Options

Why it happens

What causes crooked teeth?

Teeth come in crooked for several reasons, and often more than one applies:

• Jaw size. If the jaw is small for the size of the teeth, there is simply not enough room and teeth overlap or twist.
• Family traits. Crowding, gaps and bite problems often run in families.
• Childhood habits. Long-term thumb sucking, dummy use or tongue thrusting can push teeth out of line.
• Early tooth loss. When a baby tooth is lost too early, neighbouring teeth can drift into the space and block the adult tooth.
• Age. Teeth keep moving slowly throughout life, so lower front teeth that were straight at twenty may be crowded at forty, especially if a retainer was not worn.
• Missing teeth. A gap lets the teeth around it tip and drift.

Teens and adults

Can adults straighten their teeth?

Yes. Healthy teeth can be moved at any age, and a large share of the people asking about straightening are adults. Clear aligners appeal to many adults because they are hard to notice and come out to eat and clean.

The main requirement is healthy gums and teeth before you start, so we check for decay and gum disease first and treat anything that needs it. After straightening, everyone needs a retainer, because teeth tend to drift back towards where they started.

For children and teens, an orthodontic check from around age seven to ten lets us spot crowding and bite problems early, when growth can sometimes be used to help. Complex cases, such as large bite discrepancies or jaw growth problems, may be referred to a specialist orthodontist, and we will explain why if that is the better path. See our orthodontics page for more.