Although rotated teeth are a less common complaint than, say, discolored teeth, or crowded teeth, when they occur they can be hard to deal with. A rotated tooth is highly visible, is prone to getting food stuck in or around it, and can interfere with how your bite fits together (occlusion). Rotated teeth can be harder to clean and may increase your risk of gum disease.
Fortunately, cosmetic dentistry has several approaches for dealing with rotated teeth.
What Causes Rotated Teeth
So what makes your teeth rotate? Teeth can become rotated either before they emerge or after. Probably the most common cause of teeth that emerge rotated is trauma to the mouth during the development of your teeth. But cysts and tumors (usually benign tumors like odontoma) can also cause teeth to grow out rotated. Sometimes you may even have an extra tooth, called a mesiodens, that can force the tooth to emerge rotated.
But teeth can become rotated after they emerge, too. Crowding can force your tooth to turn its narrower side into the dental arch to make room for other teeth. Other times, your tooth might rotate because there’s too much room, allowing the tooth the freedom to spin when subjected to abnormal bite forces. Your tongue might also be responding to other forces like your cheeks or tongue. And when food particles get stuck next to a slightly rotated tooth, they can speed rotation.
Rotation can also be faster if you have gum disease that loosens the attachment of the tooth to the bone.
Treating Rotated Teeth
The most common treatment for a rotated tooth is orthodontics. Metal braces work best, because they can easily and consistently apply rotational force. This includes accelerated braces like Six Month Smiles. Plastic aligners like Invisalign are not as good for rotating teeth.
But we even have solutions if you don’t want to take the time for braces. Porcelain veneers can allow us to reshape your rotated tooth, making it face the right way without ever moving the tooth root.
We also need to make sure that whatever caused your tooth to rotate in the first place won’t cause it to happen again. This means we’ll carefully evaluate your bite forces to make sure they’re not putting a “spin” on your tooth, and we’ll check for bite problems such as TMJ that can cause serious health problems as well as damaging your teeth.
If you are unhappy with a rotated tooth or any other cosmetic problem with your smile, we can help. Please call (614) 848-5001 for an appointment with Columbus, OH, cosmetic dentist at Firouzian Dentistry.
