Why Do People Get Crooked Teeth?

Why Do People Get Crooked Teeth?
Posted on 12/10/2015

Human beings are the product of more than 3 and a half billion years of evolution - countless organisms and generations have gone by, slowly crafting the biological recipe for modern homo sapiens. With all that R&D;, one might expect us to be nearly perfect from a biological perspective. This begs the question - why do so many people have crooked teeth?

 

More Teeth Than There's Room For

 

While one might intuitively expect us to be the final link in the evolutionary chain, the truth is that we're just the most recent advancement. And in reality, our bodies are far from perfect - particularly our mouths! That's because most humans actually grow more teeth than their mouth can fit - the third molars, also called wisdom teeth, are the remnants of previous steps in the humanoid evolutionary chain. Although our mouths have shrunk, most people still get wisdom teeth, often causing a whole host of malocclusions like overcrowding, overbite, underbite, and more.

 

Another reason is that teeth don't actually sit in the bone of the lower jaw. Instead, they're supported by a soft tissue called the periodontal ligament. This allows them to actually migrate through this structure over time. On the one hand that's good news, because that's what lets us move teeth with braces - but on the other hand, it means that although teeth may start off straight, they can move and change over time, resulting in crooked, crowded, or otherwise misaligned teeth.

 

Contact Your San Jose, CA Orthodontist

 

Have more questions about teeth, jaws, or orthodontics? We're here to help! Feel free to reach out to us at our contact page or use our easy online form to schedule an appointment at our San Jose, CA office. We can't wait to hear from you, and we'll see you back at this blog for more tips and info on taking care of your teeth.