In kids with buck teeth, the upper teeth cover the lower lip. This happens due to misalignment of upper and lower teeth. Unfortunately, other kids often make fun of such kids. However, being mocked is not the only problem that buck teeth causes to your kids. It can lead to various other dental health conditions.
This post aims at educating you on the causes, related health risks and treatment of buck teeth. Keep reading!
Causes of Buck Teeth
Check out the following leading causes of buck teeth.
- Inheritance
Like the skin tone and quality of hair, buck teeth are also inherited from parents or someone else in the family. Getting buck teeth hereditary is a common scenario.
- Excessive Thumb Sucking
This factor is under your control. You must monitor and restrict the time of thumb sucking in your baby as many babies get buck teeth from thumb sucking.
- Crowded or Missing Teeth
Conditions like gapped teeth, missing teeth, and crowded teeth often lead to misalignment of the teeth. Your kid’s teeth may end up looking like buck teeth due to any of these issues.
Possible Health Conditions Due to Buck Teeth
Are you in a duel mind about the urgency tofixthe buck teeth of your kids? Go through this list of possible health risks associated with untreated dental misalignment to make up your mind.
- Pain in Biting & Chewing
Misalignment of teeth causes bite issues which can become a reason for pain every time your kids bite or chew anything. They may also not be able to chew their food correctly.
- Breathing Problems
Buck teeth may obstruct normal breathing and lead to conditions like snoring and sleep apnea.
- Unpleasant Facial Appearance
Buck teeth are natural and should not be a topic of the joke. But as mentioned earlier, kids with buck teeth are often mocked due to their unusual facial appearance. This becomes detrimental to their mental health.
- Speech Impediments
The misaligned teeth adversely affect the speech of your kids. They may not be able to pronounce some letters and sounds correctly.
- Damaged Teeth and Gums
When teeth are not aligned properly, they will naturally hurt other teeth while talking and eating. As a result, your kids may damage their teeth and gums over time.
Buck Teeth Treatment
Your orthodontist will likely perform any of these treatments to fix the buck teeth of your kids.
- Braces
Metal brackets are tied to your teeth with wires to move the teeth to the correct location. Braces are a traditional and proven way of fixing buck teeth.
- Mouth Guards
Thisis more of protective treatment. Mouth guards prevent the misaligned teeth from harming other teeth. Your kids must wear a mouthguard while playing contact sports.
- Invisalign
Invisalign are removable and transparent braces. They require fewer visits to the dentist than conventional metal braces. All these factors make them quite popular amongst youngsters.
- Extraction
Your orthodontist can also suggest extraction of the buck teeth for resolving bite issues.
Ina Nutshell
Whether your kid got buck teeth from thumb sucking, tongue thrusting or in heredity, it is always treatable. Various advanced treatments are available in modern dentistry to fix buck teeth permanently.
So don’t delay your visit to the orthodontist as the unresolved issue ofbuck teeth is an unnecessary discomfort and health risk for your kids.
About Author:
Creating perfect smiles is what Dr. Satish Pai is committed to. An orthodontist by profession, he believes that a perfect smile is a powerful part of a person’s personality. When he is not working hard on perfecting his patients’ smiles at Putnam Ortho, he is busy writing engaging articles about everything related to healthy and perfect smiles. His other passions include golf, yoga, and surfing. Spending time with his family always brings a smile to his face.