Crooked Baby Teeth: Causes, Myths and When to Worry in Sotogrande
A child with crooked baby teeth drinks, chews and smiles just like any other, and in most cases those teeth straighten out on their own as the jaw grows. Crooked baby teeth are primary (milk) teeth that come through twisted, tilted or out of line with the dental arch, something very common between 6 and 30 months. Only cause for concern is pain, difficulty eating or sucking habits that continue beyond 2 or 3 years of age.
- The short version
- At what age can crooked teeth be corrected?
- When should you worry about your baby's teeth?
- Can crooked teeth be corrected in childhood?
- Why do teeth come in crooked?
- Myths about children's teeth worth debunking
- Dummies and crooked teeth: what's actually true
- Frequently asked questions
The short version
- It’s normal for first teeth to come in crooked: the arch is still growing, and the tongue, lips and chewing gradually position them.
- The first visit to the paediatric dentist should happen before the first birthday , or within six months of the first tooth coming through.
- Dummies (pacifiers) and bottles used beyond 2-3 years are linked to open bite and crossbite.
- Orthodontic assessment is considered around ages 6-7, not during the baby stage.
At what age can crooked teeth be corrected?
Crooked teeth are generally corrected with braces from around age 6 or 7, when the permanent teeth begin to come through. Before that age, the work consists of monitoring and eliminating habits. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a first orthodontic check-up around age 7, and many paediatric dentists in Spain follow the same guideline.
Children aged 0 to 3 do not get braces. There is, however, one exception worth knowing about: the crossbite , when the upper teeth close inside the lower ones. Some specialists treat it from around age 4 or 5, because it can divert the growth of the jaw.
A very typical case illustrates this well. An 11-month-old baby has upper lateral incisors turned almost a quarter of a turn. The paediatric dentist asks for patience and a review at six months. By around 20 months, with the canines now coming through, the laterals have almost completely aligned. Nobody did anything beyond waiting and brushing twice a day.
When should you worry about your baby’s teeth?
Worry when the problem affects function rather than just appearance: pain, difficulty chewing, teeth that clash when closing, or stains that don’t brush off. A turned tooth that causes no discomfort is usually just that, a turned tooth.
It’s also worth consulting if no teeth have come through by 18 months. This checklist can help you check your child’s mouth at home once a month, for example after bath time. If you tick any of the points, discuss it with your paediatrician or paediatric dentist:
- The upper teeth close behind the lower ones at some point.
- When biting, the upper and lower incisors don’t touch and a gap remains.
- You see opaque white or brown marks near the gum.
- Your child sleeps with their mouth open, snores or breathes through their mouth during the day.
- A knocked tooth has changed colour or the gum has become swollen.
- By 18 months, no tooth has come through yet.
- The teeth come through very tightly packed, with no space between them.
Can crooked teeth be corrected in childhood?
Yes, it is possible, and with the milk teeth it is almost always the natural growth itself that does the job. The tongue, lips and cheeks exert constant pressure that positions the teeth, while the upper jaw widens to make room for the molars.
Therefore, correction at the baby stage doesn’t involve braces. It comes down to three decisions at home: removing the dummy and bottle in good time, offering foods that need to be chewed, and looking after nasal breathing. A 14-month-old with crooked teeth who drinks, chews and babbles without any limitation has no reason to rush into treatment.
Chewing matters more than it might seem. In Montessori Nido environments, the 8 or 9-month-old already eats soft pieces of food with their hands and drinks from a small cup. Beyond independence, this way of eating requires biting, grinding and coordinating tongue and lips, work that supports the development of the jaws.
Why do teeth come in crooked?
Milk teeth come in crooked mainly because the bone is still growing when they emerge. The tooth takes up the space available and, if it arrives before there is room, it turns or tilts.
The most common causes of a baby’s turned teeth
Heredity plays a big role: small jaws with large teeth leave little margin. Added to that are prolonged sucking of the dummy or thumb, mouth breathing (due to adenoids, allergies or repeated colds) and a tongue that rests low in the mouth. Even the order of eruption has an influence, since a tooth that comes early takes the place of another.
The order of eruption, month by month
The lower central incisors usually come through between 6 and 10 months, and the upper ones between 8 and 12. Then come the laterals, the first molars around 18 months and the canines between 16 and 22 months. The second molars complete the milk dentition between 2 and 3 years, with 20 teeth in total.
On the other hand, spaces between teeth are good news. Those gaps make room for the permanent teeth, which are larger. Conversely, very crowded milk teeth frequently foreshadow a lack of space in the permanent dentition.
Myths about children’s teeth worth debunking
Myth 1: milk teeth don’t matter because they fall out
False. Milk teeth hold the space for the permanent ones. If decay forces the extraction of a molar at age 4, the neighbouring teeth shift and the permanent tooth may come through crooked or have no room.
Myth 2: if milk teeth come in crooked, the permanent ones will too
Not necessarily. A turned milk incisor doesn’t determine the permanent one, which forms in a different position inside the bone. What does predict problems is a complete lack of space.
Myth 3: sucking your thumb is more harmless than a dummy
It’s exactly the opposite. The thumb is always available and much harder to give up. The dummy, on the other hand, can be removed gradually and with a set date.
Dummies and crooked teeth: what’s actually true
A dummy does not straighten teeth if used in moderation and removed between 2 and 3 years . The problem arises when the habit drags on and occupies many hours a day. Sustained sucking pushes the incisors outward and narrows the palate, which favours open bite and crossbite.
Likewise, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends offering a dummy at sleep time during the first year, because it is associated with a lower risk of sudden infant death. The dummy is not the enemy. The lack of a plan for removing it is.
Picture a 2 and a half-year-old girl who uses a dummy almost all day. At the check-up, the paediatric dentist detects an anterior open bite: when she closes, there is a gap between the incisors. The family limits the dummy to nap time and bedtime for a month, then removes it with a small farewell ritual. Six months later, the gap has shrunk considerably without treatment. This outcome is common when the habit is dropped before 3 or 4 years, although each case is assessed by the specialist.
The typical dummy mistake and how to avoid it
The most common mistake is cleaning the dummy by putting it in your own mouth or dipping it in sugar to soothe the baby. This passes on the bacteria that cause decay and also feeds them. Wash it with water and replace it as soon as the teat cracks. Never dip it in honey: before the age of one it is advised against because of the risk of botulism.
The same applies to the night-time bottle. If your child with crooked teeth sips milk all night long, the problem stops being the position of the tooth and becomes bottle decay. The open cup, which Montessori environments offer as soon as the baby sits steadily, helps close that stage sooner. You can learn more about this approach on the website of the Association Montessori Internationale.
Frequently asked questions
At what age can crooked teeth be corrected?
Crooked teeth are usually corrected with orthodontics from around age 6 or 7, when the permanent teeth come through, although some problems such as crossbite can be treated earlier, and in babies it is almost always enough to monitor and eliminate sucking habits. The first orthodontic check-up is recommended around age 7.
When should you worry about a baby’s teeth?
You should worry about a baby’s teeth when there is pain, difficulty eating, white or brown marks, teeth that clash when closing, mouth breathing, or no teeth at all by 18 months, because these signs indicate a functional problem and not just an aesthetic one. If you notice any of them, consult your paediatrician.
Can crooked teeth be corrected?
Yes, crooked teeth can be corrected, and with milk teeth most of them align on their own thanks to the growth of the jaw and the pressure of the tongue, lips and cheeks, while with permanent teeth orthodontics is used if there is crowding or bite problems. The specialist decides the appropriate time.
Why do teeth come in crooked?
Teeth come in crooked because they erupt into a bone that is still growing and take up the available space, to which are added genetic inheritance, prolonged dummy or thumb use, mouth breathing and each child’s own order of eruption. In babies, a turned tooth usually settles into place by itself within a few months.
Check your child’s mouth once a month with the checklist, book the first dental appointment before their first birthday, and set a date for saying goodbye to the dummy before age 3. If you are also looking for a school that supports your little one’s independence from Nido age, in Sotogrande and a few minutes from anywhere in the Campo de Gibraltar, book a personalised school visit.
