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Many teens and adults with crooked, overcrowded, or gapped teeth consider their misalignments more of an aesthetic concern and avoid scheduling a consultation with their provider because they’ve assumed their problem “isn’t that big a deal.”
While it’s true that straightening your smile with orthodontic treatments, such as traditional braces, can help enhance your appearance, doing so can also improve your general and dental well-being. Continue reading to learn more about 3 ways that repositioning your grin can boost your health!
Advantage #1: Better Dental Health
You’re not alone if you’re feeling self-conscious about the state of your smile. Plenty of patients worry that they’ll be judged for unevenly spaced teeth, but it’s not the only potential reason to seek treatment.
For instance, teeth that overlap can be challenging to clean because it’s harder to reach all sides to brush and floss them thoroughly, increasing the risk of tooth decay or gum disease. Furthermore, if they’re not in their correct places, they’re more likely to be worn down unevenly or prematurely, which can result in chips, cracks, breaks, or other injuries. Therefore, undergoing services to reposition your grin can help prevent oral problems and help maintain happy, healthy enamel and connective tissues.
Advantage #2: Alleviate Aches
If your upper and lower arches don’t touch where they should when you bite down, then you may have developed a malocclusion, or bite misalignment, such as an overbite, underbite, or crossbite. Not only can these conditions detract from your visage, but they can also put added force on your temporomandibular joints (TMJ) that anchor your jawbone to your skull on each side of your face just below your ears.
If these joints are overworked or are overcompensating for a misalignment, you could develop aches or stiffness that limit the range of motion of your mouth. If left untreated for too long, you could also experience discomfort in your ears, neck, and head. Fortunately, orthodontic services, such as braces, can help correct your jaw alignment to give the stressed joints a much-needed chance to rest and recover.
Advantage #3: Improved Digestion
Some patients with more severely misaligned teeth struggle to bite and chew food sufficiently to be easily swallowed and digested. Unfortunately, this can contribute to malnutrition or gastrointestinal issues from swallowing overly large pieces that can’t your system struggles to absorb.
Thankfully, your orthodontist can help shift your teeth and jawbone to their ideal positions to restore your bite force to help improve your nutrition and digestion.
If you’re uncertain which treatment can help straighten your smile to enhance your well-being, you can learn more by scheduling a consultation with your orthodontist!
Meet the Author
Dr. Saba Asrar has nearly 20 years of experience helping people of all ages build happy, healthy smiles. She completed her specialization in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and today, she offers a variety of services to improve your dental or bite alignment, including traditional braces. You can request an appointment on the website or by calling (512) 828-7900.
