Why do people have crooked teeth?

Mal-aligned teeth or crooked teeth are problematic not only aesthetically but also from a health point of view. Irregularly placed teeth when present are difficult to clean and maintain hygiene, affect the speech, alters the facial profile and decreases the quality of smile and overall confidence of the person.

Let's see what are the causes of having crooked teeth.

1. Heredity and Evolution
During the course of evolution, the size of man's jaw has been decreasing gradually. Before thousands of years it is believed that human's used to have long jaws and even four molars. Present day human has smaller jaws and even third molars are impacted and need to be removed surgically these days.

Also, heredity also plays an important in proper alignment of teeth. If any of the parents have crooked tooth, the offsprings may also inherit the same.

2. Tooth size arch length discrepancy
When the jaws are smaller and they cannot accommodate all the teeth in the arch properly, the teeth get displaced out of arch due to crowding. Decrease arch length may be due to actual enlargement of tooth, also called Macrodontia, or may be due to retarded growth of maxilla or mandible. Moreover due to consumption of more soft and refined foods, the jaw growth is deficient and the teeth fail to accommodate.

Also the arch length is lost when the deciduous tooth are removed early due to caries or the mesiodistal width of teeth is reduced due to proximal caries. The permanent successor teeth  cannot get enough space to erupt in the arch and become crooked.

3. Habits
Abnormal habits like mouth breathing, tongue thrusting and thumb sucking also exert unnatural forces on the orofacial structures and cause malocclusion.

When diagnosed and treated early, orthodontic treatment can have best outcome and restore natural and healthy smile. Even after the growth phase is completed, crooked teeth can be aligned using fixed archwires and brackets by your Orthodontist. Please visit your nearest Orthodontist if you have got any crooked tooth.

MCQs in Public Health Dentistry - Biostatistics

The correct answers are highlighted in green.

# The arithmetical average of a number of observations is called :
 A. Mean 
 B. Median
 C. Range

 D. All of the above

# Which of the following correlates highest correlation between variables ? 

 A. r= + 0.25 

 B. r= + 0.5 

 C. r= - 0.75 

 D. r= + 2 

Gemination, Twinning, Concrescence and Fusion of Teeth

Gemination:

• An attempt at division of a single tooth before calcification, resulting in incomplete formation of two teeth.

• The resultant structure will have two completely or incompletely separated crowns with a single root and root canal.

• It is difficult to differentiate between gemination and a case in which there has been fusion between a normal tooth and a supernumerary tooth.

Twinning:

The division of a single tooth resulting in one normal and one supernumerary tooth. The number of teeth will be more than normal.

Concrescence:

• A form of fusion of cementum after completion of root formation

• The teeth are united by cementum only.

• Maxillary molars are frequently involved

Fusion: 

• Union of two normally separated tooth germs.

• If the union occurs before calcification, the two teeth are completely united to form a single Large tooth.

• If the union occurs after calcification, there is union of roots only. The tooth may have separate or fused root canals.

•  Fusion of teeth is more common in deciduous teeth.

MCQs on Pathology - Growth Disorders and Neoplasia

The Correct answers are highlighted in GREEN.

# Burkitt's lymphoma is associated with the proliferation of: (AP -99)
a) T- cell
b) B - cell
c) Lymph vessels
d) Lymph nodes

# Incidence of most common malignant tumors in men in India is in:
a) Lungs
b) Oral cavity
c) Prostate
d) Liver

MCQs in Microbiology - Virology Part 2

The correct answers are highlighted in green.

# The classic opportunistic infection in acquired immune deficiency syndrome is: (KAR-2000)
a) Aphthous stomatitis
b) Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
c) Herpetic gingivostomatitis
d) Tuberculosis

# In which of the following immunization is given after infection is started: (AP-2004)

a) Influenza

b) Poliomyelitis

c) Herpes

d) Rabies

MCQs on Microbiology - Virology Part 1

The correct answers are highlighted in green.

# HIV is transmitted by all of the following routes except: (AP-14, MAN-2002)
a) Saliva
b) Needle prick injury
c) Blood transmission
d) Sexual intercourse

# A rise in the anti-HBc immunoglobulin in a patient indicates: (MAN-2000)

a) Acute infection

b) Carrier state

c) Prodromal phase

d) Convalescence

MCQs on Hematology and Endocrinology Part 2 - General Medicine MCQs

The correct answers are highlighted in green.

# Enzyme deficient in diabetes mellitus is: (TNPSC-99)
a) Glucokinase
b) Hexokinase
c) Phosphorylase

d) Pyrophosphate dehydrogenase

# Which of the following neoplasms is primary in the adrenal medulla? (APPSC-99)

a) Pheochromocytoma

b) Eosinophilic adenoma

c) Arrhenoblastoma

d) None of the above