Benefits of Straight Teeth
Most people consider crooked teeth as a cosmetic issue, but the benefits of straight teeth are quite significant. Having straight teeth not only contributes to a beautiful smile but also bodes well for your dental health as well as your overall health.
What is the Problem with Crooked Teeth?
When your teeth do not line up correctly, it leads to malocclusion. Malocclusion comes in different forms: with crowding and spacing, normally the issue is the tooth proximity. Other malocclusions involve incorrect arrangements or misalignments in the way your teeth come together when you bite, including excessive over jut, edge-to-edge bite, open bite, cross bite and deep bite.
Misaligned and crooked teeth are very common dental issues; however, they can end up causing problems if left you left them untreated. The situations will likely get worse as time passes, thus taking steps to correct that kind of issue early will save you money, time, stress, and discomfort.
Malocclusions usually put abnormal stress on the jaw and teeth, which sets the stage for a broad array of problems. Also, they increase the risk of periodontal disease (gum disease), which is known to be a set of inflammatory conditions that affect the tissues that are surrounding the teeth. In contrast, straight teeth will most likely allow the jaw and teeth to function as designed, plus they’re easier to maintain. Here are the benefits of straight teeth:
Self-Confidence
When you have straight teeth, it will give you confidence and you’ll always want to smile more for people to see during social interaction because they make you look more attractive to everyone. Studies suggest that 99.7% of adults believe a beautiful smile is an essential social asset. Your self-esteem can improve by making a pleasing and proportional face, and that change can benefit you socially as well as at school or work.
Having straight teeth during developmental years can help teenagers be less appearance-conscious. Also, as adults, straightening teeth can make a person look younger. Diastema, which is a gap or space between two teeth located at the front, may cause you to talk with a whistle. When the gap is closed, it will make your speech clearer and boost your confidence while speaking.
Reduces the Risk of Jaw Problems
A bad bite not only strains your teeth but also puts stress on the joints of your jaw. The temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are the two hinged joints connecting your jawbone to your skull, and they are found near your ears. When TMJ plus the muscles supporting get irritated by the strain that is generated by misaligned or crooked teeth, you will likely find that you have to deal with headaches, ringing in your ears, earaches, dizziness and jaw pain. In fact, people struggling with persistent headaches and jaw pain may find that when they treat their malocclusion, they’ll welcome relief from those problems.
Healthier Gums and Teeth
It is less likely to find straight teeth having food build-up when compared to crooked teeth. Typically, food build-up results in more plaque, which is a colourless, sticky film that is made of saliva, food and bacteria. The plaque is fed by carbohydrates that you drink or eat to cause cavities. If you leave plaque on your teeth, it will start becoming tartar within 24 hours. It’s easy to clean straight teeth with flossing and brushing, hence you always keep a healthy mouth.
Gapped or crowded teeth may cause your gums being red and swollen. They can also lead to gum disease, which can result in diabetes or heart disease. Oral bacteria can enter the bloodstream from the gums and end up affecting the brain and the inner lining of the blood vessels.
Even though tooth plaque isn’t similar to the plaque that is found in the arteries that may cause heart attacks, it’s the exact species of bacteria for the two. Straight teeth together with healthy gums are less sensitive to cold or heat, less likely to be discoloured, plus they lower your risk of needing painful and expensive dental problems later in your life.
Overall Health
Usually, when chewing is painful or hard, people don’t completely break down the food that’s in their mouth. That can lead to digestive problems. Also, gum disease is connected with heart disease and diabetes. If untreated, gum disease and tooth decay can result in oral infections. Bad bites plus tooth grinding due to misalignment can lead to headaches plus other issues like TMJ. Consequently, having straight, healthy teeth greatly contributes to the overall health.
Flossing on a daily basis can extend your life expectancy by seven years; it’s much easier and quicker to floss straight teeth compared to crooked teeth. By making it simpler to practice dental hygiene effectively, which removes bacteria before causing a problem, it is evident that straight teeth play a major role in your overall health.
Prevents Abnormal Tooth Wear
Usually, crowded bottom teeth cause one or even more of your teeth to jut out. This rubs against your upper teeth and with time it can lead to an ineffective chewing function, and it can result in undue wear to tooth enamel.
The benefits of having straight teeth are quite obvious. While a few people who are lucky might naturally have straight teeth, those with misaligned or crooked teeth do not have to miss out on enjoying a healthy, beautiful smile. They can visit a dentist to help them straighten their teeth as well as perfect their grins with products such as Invisalign. Invisalign relies on transparent aligners that are retainer-like to correct your teeth.
Contact us today for a complimentary consultation with Dr Craig Lewis.
