Crooked teeth in children

[Earlybird]

DD is 5.9 and so far has lost her two lower front teeth. A new tooth is starting to push through her lower gum, and it's coming through crooked.

I wore braces on my teeth for many years, so hope that this isn't an indication that she's likely to need braces too. Seems logical that "big teeth" are larger than milk teeth and so maybe there isn't enough room to accomodate with a child's smaller mouth/jaw.

Did your children's new teeth come through straight? Do teeth, over time, "settle" as the child grows? Is there anything that can be done to encourage straight teeth or discourage crooked ones?

Hi, My 10 yr son had exactly the same problem and i was really concerned but sure enough they straightend themselves out perfectly on their own. my 6 yr old has got his bottom tooth coming through and that is also crooked but feel confident it will be fine. So my advice is don't worry about it. when she gets to 12 if they are still crooked then you could have a brace soughted out.Hope i have helped to reasure you.

Don't worry - they will very likely sort themselves out. My son did end up having to have braces, but they didn't even think about doing anything until he was 13, when everything had stopped moving around in his mouth.

And, the results have been fantastic - in only a very short period of time (he's now 14, 15 in Feb) he now has perfectly straight teeth!

Thank you NHS - perhaps something we don't often say/hear!

Thanks for the advice. I know their little mouths probably can't accomodate "big teeth" yet, and am reassured to hear that crooked now doesn't mean crooked forever. Presumably teeth can shift as the jaw grows? Btw, I've been interested to observe how different the slightly older children start to look as their new teeth come through - perhaps down to changing jawline/face shape?

I just hope for dd's sake (and the sake of my bank account) that we are not doomed to repeat my extensive (and expensive) dental history.....

DS's bottom teeth have come through crooked too. But I am not worrying about it. I had this problem and my dentist decided it would be a good idea to remove most of my milk teeth 'to make room' over a period of a year ....
As a result I needed 4 years of orthodontics to sort out the mess of the crooked adult teeth that did come through (Dentists now agree that extraction of milk teeth increases risk of needing orthodontics apparently)
We have, though, started saving for possible future orthodontic treatment, should it be needed.