{"id":249,"date":"2022-09-21T03:46:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T03:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stalbansdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=249"},"modified":"2022-10-15T03:46:55","modified_gmt":"2022-10-15T03:46:55","slug":"shifting-teeth-causes-explained-by-dentist-in-st-albans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stalbansdentistry.com\/blog\/2022\/09\/21\/shifting-teeth-causes-explained-by-dentist-in-st-albans\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Causing Your Teeth to Shift?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You likely know to practice dental hygiene to protect your oral health. In particular, you should brush and floss your teeth to keep them clean and free of harmful bacteria. However, did you know it’s also essential that your pearly whites stay straight? Your teeth can shift throughout your life, but letting them do so will cause problems. As such, you ought to act if you notice yours starting to move. Luckily, your dentist in St. Albans is here to help. Read on to learn the causes of shifting teeth and how dental treatment<\/a> can fix them.<\/p>

So, What *Is* Making Your Teeth Shift?<\/h2>

While teeth shifting is natural, they can do so for various reasons. Some of them include the following:<\/p>

Natural Aging<\/h3>

Aging causes your jaw muscles and ligaments to weaken slowly. As that happens, your teeth may loosen and shift your bite.<\/p>

Growing older can also change your smile. Lips contract over the years, creating pressure that pushes teeth inward.<\/p>

Jaw Movement<\/h3>

Your jawbone shifts forward throughout your entire lifespan. In some cases, this movement puts force on lower teeth and thus pushes upper teeth out of place. Your smile can then become misaligned, altering the bite and causing more teeth to shift.<\/p>

Tooth Grinding<\/h3>

Bruxism, or teeth grinding, does more than just wear teeth down with force. It can often create pressure that pushes them out of place. Even worse, this habit is often unconscious, so many don’t recognize its role in bite shifts.<\/p>

Gum Disease<\/h3>

Gum disease infects the pink tissue surrounding your teeth. Its advanced form, periodontitis, can even lead to gum recession and bone loss, which affects tooth movement. However, the latter only happens when the infection spreads to surrounding body tissue.<\/p>

How a Dentist Can Help<\/h2>

Your dentist in St. Albans has treatments that could correct your shifting teeth and realign your smile. The most common procedures are:<\/p>