Have you been checking out your smile in the mirror lately and noticed something different? Maybe you leaned in closer and thought to yourself, “My teeth are shifting!”
After years in braces, it’s disheartening to see this happening. Even worse is when your dentist tells you that your shifting teeth are causing damage to each other.
Learning how to stop teeth from shifting and how to fix teeth alignment when it does can save you stress and money.
How to Stop Teeth from Shifting
Why Do Teeth Shift?
Teeth naturally move around over the course of our lives, and shifting teeth after braces is usually handled by wearing a retainer to keep things in line.
But if you don’t continue to wear your retainer or you have other dental problems, unwanted movement can impact the smile you worked so hard to get.
If it’s your bottom front teeth shifting, that often happens with age as your lower jawbone might shrink, or your lips get tighter and put more pressure on your teeth.
Dental problems such as gum disease can lead to loss of bone in the jaw that holds teeth in place. Grinding or clenching can also move your teeth around as it pushes your upper teeth out of alignment.
How To Stop Teeth From Shifting
Right after you have your braces off, your orthodontist will fit you for a retainer, which is the first line of defense in teeth movement. It’s important to wear it to hold your teeth in place until they get settled in their new locations.
If you’re worried about how to stop shifting teeth, know that people who have good dental health are less likely to be troubled by tooth movement. Proper brushing and flossing keep your gums healthy, which can help hold your teeth in place.
You should also address any grinding and clenching issues. You might not be aware you’re doing this, but your dentist can spot the signs and suggest treatment options.
Repair the Shift
More than a million adults in the US have braces, some because they’ve had an orthodontic relapse that could only be addressed by going down the braces route again.
If the shifting you’re seeing is minor, it’s possible a new retainer could help adjust or maintain their current position. It’s definitely a topic to take up with your dentist or orthodontist.
But if you have to do braces again, you have many options these days that are more comfortable and less intrusive than brackets and wires.
Clear braces or invisible aligners like those from ALINGERCO can get your teeth where they belong without anyone even noticing you have them. Check out our ALINGERCO coupon to cut the cost of adjusting your shifting teeth.
Stop Shifting Teeth Now
Some of the reasons your teeth shift are outside of your control, like changes to your jaw size or shape. While shifting teeth can be a natural thing, you do want to keep them aligned, so your teeth don’t begin to scrape each other and cause damage over time.
Learning how to stop teeth from shifting is an important step to maintaining your beautiful smile and overall dental health. But a great smile isn’t the only way to stay healthy. Check out the health section of our blog daily for more articles like this one.
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