Even though straight teeth are generally regarded as a cosmetic concern, the reality is that straight teeth can support your oral health as well as your overall health. And these perks apply whether you use FASTBRACES® or Invisalign® clear aligners to straighten out your teeth.
Let’s dive in and explore the top five benefits of straighter teeth, courtesy of Dr. Lovely Manlapaz Teodoro.
Chewing is the first step of the digestive process, but a bad bite bite or crooked teeth can impact your digestion. Malocclusion 一 the misalignment of your upper and lower teeth 一 can affect the way you bite down, and if you can’t close your mouth properly, it’s hard to thoroughly chew your food.
Bite problems, such as open bite, crossbite, and underbite, increase the risk that you swallow larger pieces of food, and if you don’t chew your food enough, your body doesn’t produce enough digestive enzymes to break down your food. Insufficient chewing plus reduced digestive enzymes can lead to weight gain, dehydration, bloating, gas, aspiration, and choking.
On the flip side, straightening out your teeth can improve digestion by promoting more thorough chewing. When you chew your food enough, it sends signals to your brain to make more digestive enzymes, which, in turn, improves digestion.
The best prevention strategy for gum disease is regular brushing and flossing. That’s because too much plaque irritates your gums and increases the risk of gingivitis, but regular flossing and brushing removes plaque from along your gums. However, if your teeth are tightly crowded, it can be hard to effectively remove plaque from along your gumline. As plaque and tartar build up, you might notice that your gums are tender or red, or even bleed easily.
Straightening out your teeth can make it easier to remove plaque from between your teeth and at the base of teeth, which effectively reduces your risk of gum disease.
Straight teeth can help reduce your risk of gum disease, and it can also reduce your risk of cavities, especially cavities that form between two teeth. When your teeth are crooked, bacteria-laden plaque can accumulate between your teeth. If it’s not removed, this can cause tooth decay to erode your tooth enamel.
Straightening out your teeth prevents this type of cavity by making it easier to floss between your teeth.
Crooked teeth can contribute to oral discomfort in a few ways. It’s not uncommon for misaligned teeth to contribute to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain. You might notice that your jaw clicks or pops when you open your mouth to speak, yawn, or chew. You’re also more likely to bite your tongue or cheek if your bite is off.
Correcting orthodontic issues can improve your overall comfort by improving your bite and eliminating TMJ-related discomfort from misaligned teeth.
In addition to supporting your overall physical health by promoting more thorough chewing, decreased risk of cavities and gum disease, and improved comfort, orthodontic treatment can also improve your mental wellness by improving your self-confidence. When you’re happy with your smile, it shows!
Additionally, dealing with oral health issues, such as gum disease, TMJ pain, or cavities, can be stressful. Orthodontic treatment improves your mental health by reducing stress related to these issues.
If you’re looking to get a new smile or restore the appearance of your teeth with orthodontic treatment, call our Hercules, California, office, call us at 510-254-3328. You can request an appointment online too.
