Straight teeth can help you gain confidence in your smile. This is likely why most of the millions of Americans who wear braces subject themselves to months of treatment. But straight teeth have benefits beyond purely cosmetic changes.
Here are the six main health benefits of straight teeth! We want to help those who are on the fence about starting their treatment to take the plunge and do what’s best for their oral health by getting braces.
Want to find out if you or your child needs braces? Visit Reese Orthodontics in Charleston, SC for leading orthodontic care.
Easier, Healthier Cleaning
Any orthodontist or dentist will tell you how important it is to keep your teeth clean. However, brushing and flossing every day may not be enough when your teeth are unevenly spaced or crooked.
Misaligned teeth can trap food and contribute to plaque buildup more than straight teeth. They are more difficult to clean as a result. Maintaining proper brushing and flossing habits, especially for children, can become an uphill battle against the crevices of their teeth.
Straight teeth are far easier to clean completely, preventing your gums from becoming inflamed and your plaque from building up and contributing to tooth decay.
Improved Digestion
It may not seem clear at first how crooked teeth can contribute to poor digestion. However, consider that chewing is the first step in your whole digestive process. If something is wrong in step one, the rest of the process can suffer.
Thoroughly chewing your food helps your stomach digest and absorb your meal. By contrast, chunky, poorly chewed food makes our whole digestive process do more work. The result is potential stomach upset, less nutritional absorption, and unhappy intestines.
Speech Improvements
Many people with speech impediments may not realize that their crooked teeth are the root cause. Protruding, misaligned, unevenly spaced teeth can negatively impact speech habits, especially in children.
Stronger Teeth
The longer that crooked teeth stay crooked, the more wear and tear they place on each other. The pressure of chewing and biting is natural on straight teeth. However, on misaligned teeth, the pressure is uneven and can stress certain teeth, causing pain, sores, or even breakage.
Chipped, cracked teeth are too often the result of teeth that have been crooked for far too long.
Decreased Pain
Many people experience oral pain resulting from strain on their teeth and gums. This could result in sores or even cracked teeth, as stated above. However, this isn’t the only kind of pain that braces can fix.
Your lower neck, jaw, and even head can be in pain due to a jaw misalignment that can be fixed with braces. Chronic pain, sometimes even a chronic headache, is a result of your oral structures compensating for teeth that are not aligned properly. The uneven pressure can result in jaw and head pain.
Disease Prevention
We have already mentioned that straight teeth reduce your risk for periodontal diseases, or gum diseases, as well as tooth decay. However, other diseases can be prevented with straight teeth.
The debris that gets trapped in crooked teeth can breed bacteria, which can infect your gum tissue and eventually travel into your body. When these bacteria reach your bloodstream, they can cause heart issues and other serious issues such as strokes. Braces can help you prevent diseases in your body before they have a chance to begin in your mouth.
How to Straighten Your Teeth
Knowing these six primary benefits of straighter teeth, you may be wondering about your treatment options. Orthodontists can offer multiple treatment plans to address your unique issues.
These include retainers, which are molded clear plastic trays that can correct minor alignment issues, as well as different types of braces.
Conventional metal braces use an archwire to exert constant pressure on a row of teeth. Ceramic braces do the same thing but are more discreet. Invisalign treatment uses a series of changing clear plastic retainers to correct crooked teeth.
Choose Reese Orthodontics
If you’re an adult who is considering braces, you need professional advice on your treatment and payment options. For orthodontic treatments in Charleston, SC, Reese Orthodontics offers the latest technology and treatment plans. Our advanced and comfortable orthodontic treatments can be customized to suit your needs. A consultation with Reese Orthodontics includes scans, a comprehensive exam, and a conversation with the orthodontist to discover which treatment options are right for you.
Schedule an appointment with us today to stay ahead of your oral health and receive the best possible treatment in your area.