Do your teeth get bigger as you get older?

Do your teeth get bigger as you get older?

You have probably heard the old saying about someone being "long in the tooth" before. This phrase compares people with horses. Horses have teeth that continue growing throughout their lives, so you can estimate how old a horse is simply by observing how long its teeth are.

While this saying has become normalized in modern speech, the truth is that human teeth do not continue growing for all of one's life. In fact, when teeth are developing in the gums as children, they are adult size. As we get into our teen years, the teeth grow into the mouth. It appears that they are growing bigger, but in reality, they are just uncovering themselves from the gum tissue from which they were buried.

To help you preserve your teeth’s health, this article will answer all your tooth growth questions. Keep reading if you’ve ever wanted to know more about what goes on in your mouth.

What are teeth made of?

Although our teeth and bones contain more than 99% of our body’s calcium, teeth are not bone. Despite their similarities, bone is living tissue, whereas teeth are not. Without any living tissue, the outermost layer of your teeth is even harder than bone. Indeed, this layer — known as enamel — is the hardest substance in your entire body.

So if your teeth aren’t bone, what are they? There are four different types of tissue within a tooth — enamel, dentin, cementum, and pulp. Unlike bone, these tissues are not living.

How Can I Impact the Growth of My Teeth?

Much of the way teeth grow in is due to genetics and heredity, such as your natural jaw size and whether the jaw has any misalignment. Though some factors are out of your control, additional elements can affect the growth of your teeth. Here are the ways you may impact your teeth’s growth such as:

• Myofunctional habits( thumb sucking, bottle or pacifier use, mouth breathing, or open bite that occurs  when  the tongue presses too far forward in the mouth.

• Smoking(Even those who live with regular exposure to secondhand smoke can become more likely to develop cavities).

• Facial injury(A hit to the mouth or face can cause trauma to teeth or knock them out of place).

• Nutrition(Poor nutrition can lead to tooth decay and potentially crooked teeth).

While the teeth don’t grow, why they look longer?

The change in appearance is due to several issues that typically come up as you get older. Here is some of those issues:

• • Gum Recession( brushing too hard, grinding your teeth, having too many treatments done, or trauma from an accident.
  • Advanced gum disease(During the later stages of gingivitis, there is an infection of your bone structure and gums. This infection is known as periodontal disease. Without treatment, bacteria in your mouth will eventually begin to destroy the gum tissue and bone around your teeth, loosening it and exposing the root.

• Improper dental care(Of course, proper dental care is the foundation of good tooth growth. Brushing your teeth and flossing twice per day, along with regular dental checkups, can help prevent or treat dental problems like cavities or gum disease. Make sure you stay on top of your dental routine to help your teeth develop correctly)

If things are starting to change in your mouth and just don’t look right, please give me a call on (703)719-9305 and ask me a question.