Canted Smile – How to Fix and Treat Canted Teeth
Not Happy With Your Smile? Maybe It's Not That Hard to Fix...
Smile defects are not always apparent to everyone but still can cause self-assurance problems.
It can bring down your assertiveness if you’re uncomfortable with how your teeth look.
A canted smile is certainly not a pleasant thing to have.
But what is exactly a canted smile, and what is the cause?
In this article, you will find the answer to both questions.
More importantly, we will share recommendations and relevant information about the treatment.
What is a Canted Smile?
A canted smile is a tilted smile, one that is not entirely horizontal.
Instead of having aligned and straight teeth, they are slightly crooked or leaning to one side.
People with apparently straight smiles will also have a slight tilt in most cases.
But a canted smile will be noticeable when the tilt angle is higher than 4 degrees.
How can you detect this aesthetic defect?
The word “canted” comes from cant, which is the line of your teeth.
If you draw a straight axis on your photo passing through the nose, a normal cant line will be at 90º.
To make it easier, bite on a popsicle stick.
You probably have a canted smile if your teeth look tilted compared to the stick.
With this in mind, you can see for yourself how aligned your smile is compared to the standard.
A canted smile will not likely cause significant problems.
It is more a cosmetic concern than a functional issue.
Still, some patients may increase tooth wear and tear due to canted teeth.
In children, this may also lead to complications in tooth eruption.
What Causes a Canted Smile?
Tooth alignment and disposition depend on several factors.
If your dentist detects a canted smile, they may consider one of the following causes:
Jaw misalignments
This is also known as malocclusion, which features a jaw deviation.
In these cases, the jaw feels like it doesn’t fit or fall where it should.
The bite becomes irregular, leading to an uneven smile.
Associated problems include crossbite, overbite, and overjet.
Misaligned teeth
Your jaw can be perfectly fine, but you would still have a canted smile if the teeth were misaligned.
One or more teeth can be crooked or have different lengths, making the bite irregular.
An underlying disease can also lead to a canted smile, especially gingivitis, which changes tooth alignment.
Uneven gum line
The gums is a soft tissue that holds your teeth in place.
When you have alignment problems in the gums, these can also reflect in your smile.
It is expected that the gums will withdraw after your teeth emerge.
The gum line becomes uneven when they don't, resulting in a canted smile.
Something similar happens when gums recede due to aging, brushing too hard, or gingivitis.
Trauma
Different injuries can lead to occlusal problems, too.
This is a mechanical and acquired cause of canted teeth, usually resulting from severe head trauma.
More than one of these factors can contribute to developing a canted smile.
Determining the exact cause is fundamental before considering the treatment options.
How to Fix a Canted Smile (6 Methods)
Correcting a canted smile is possible with the treatment given by orthodontists.
The exact procedure depends on the leading cause of the problem.
We have different methods for gum, jaw, or teeth misalignments.
Plastic surgeons can also perform reconstructive surgery in case of trauma.
The most important procedures performed by an orthodontist include:
Gum contouring
Also known as smile lift, gum contouring changes gum alignment to correct the smile.
The procedure features extracting gum tissue and remodeling the margin to make it more even.
The procedure is highly variable depending on the degree of the uneven gum line.
In some cases, orthodontists may not need a scalpel.
In others, the patient requires more advanced treatment.
Discomfort and the risk of bleeding reduce when soft diode laser technology is used.
Crown lengthening
You might benefit from crown lengthening if your canted smile is also covered with gum.
This procedure increases the visible part of your teeth, which the gum would otherwise cover.
In revealing your teeth, the orthodontist can also correct your canted smile.
Unlike gum contouring, crown lengthening deals with the bone along with the gum.
Both structures are remodelled simultaneously.
Veneers
Veneers are small pieces made up of porcelain and personalized for each patient.
They correct problems, protect your teeth, and improve their appearance.
In some cases, a canted smile results from a smaller defect in the surface of your teeth.
In other cases, one tooth grows unevenly and becomes shorter.
Orthodontists may use a veneer to correct a superficial defect or length variations.
Braces
This is perhaps the most popular method to fix a canted smile, especially in the case of misaligned teeth and a misaligned jaw.
What they do is pull the jawbone and teeth gently until they reach the right place.
Besides aligning your teeth, braces will also correct your bite.
There are many types of braces, and recent technology has made it discreet through Invisalign.
After removing your braces, you might need to keep using retainers for a while.
Tooth extraction
Some patients may have overcrowded and overlapped teeth making their smiles uneven.
Strategic extraction of a few teeth may correct this problem and help align the rest.
In such cases, you will likely need braces as well.
Palate expanders
An alternative way to fix teeth crowding is using a palate expander.
This is available when a tooth extraction is not recommended, especially in the case of children.
The patient would usually go through braces for a period and then get their palate expanders fixed.
They correct your bite by pulling the palate halves apart to create more space.
This is a slow and gentle process, similar to braces placement.
🏁 CONCLUSION 🏁
A canted smile is an aesthetic problem featuring an inclination of the smile structures.
It results from a misalignment of the gums, the teeth, or the jaw.
It can also result from trauma.
As noted above, more than one procedure can be required in the same patient to correct a canted smile.
These can include gum contouring, crown lengthening, veneers, braces, tooth extraction, and palate expanders.
🍀 GOOD LUCK 🍀
Jesper Marklund 
P.S looking for ways to improve your smile and overall appearance? Surely you've heard of the mewing technique?👇