As if you needed other reasons to straighten teeth.
We all know beautifully straight, white teeth make for an exceptional selfie, but having straight teeth is so much more than that. Orthodontic treatment can massively improve your oral health as well as your smile.
Problems associated with crowded teeth straighten out as they align.
Clever.
The trapping of food is a big problem.
When your teeth are crowded they can act as a reservoir for your last meal. I doubt you want to save that strand of steak to chew again in 4 hours.
And if food stays around your teeth it harbours plaque. This is bacteria that also like to eat it. The problem plaque produces acids which in turn decay your teeth. It will also irritate your gums and could lead to gum disease.
Tooth brushing MUST remove this plaque. To do this your brush must touch EVERY surface of EVERY tooth.
In crowded mouths, it can be nearly impossible. It also makes flossing tricky.
Tartar buildup is most common on your lower front teeth. If you straighten your teeth this will stop this building up and make your hygienist trips a lot easier.
The biting surfaces of your top and bottom teeth should meet together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Ever tried biting a sandwich if your front teeth don’t meet? Pretty difficult.
If you straighten teeth into their proper position it means easier biting, easier chewing and therefore easier digestion.
And we all want to enjoy our food.
We, humans, are a social species. We like to talk. Men speak on average 700 words per day and women an almighty 20,000!
Talking is used constantly to communicate every part of human behaviour.
Now let’s all try something…
Make a ‘TH’ sound. You’ll notice that your tongue is just pressed against your upper teeth.
Now make a ‘V’ sound. Your lower lip just pressed your upper teeth.
The close interaction of your vocal cords, tongue, teeth and lips allows phonetic sounds to make up our speech. If these are not in harmony then speech impediments can occur.
So if there are spaces in the arch then an ‘S’ sound can be more of a whistle.
Misaligned teeth can also cause lisps.
Orthodontic treatment will straighten teeth into their correct position and improve the quality of your speech.
The way your teeth meet together has a big impact on pain in your head and face generally.
If teeth don’t meet properly when you bite or hit prematurely in certain areas then this can cause the opening of your jaw to deviate from the norm. This deviation can cause clicking or rubbing in the jaw joint (TMJ).
Unnatural movement can also put a strain on the muscles used to open and close your mouth, which can lead to headaches, spasms and facial pain.
So we already know that if you straighten teeth they’re easier to clean. But what holistic problems can plaque build-up in a crowded mouth cause?
Plaque is a major contributor to gum disease. In the short-term, this leads to bad breath and red, bleeding gums. However, consistent gum disease over many years can lead to loss of the jaw bone, longer and looser teeth and ultimately tooth loss.
Plaque also causes cavities. So unless you’d like a mouth full of fillings you need to ensure you fully remove it.
There are then links between your oral health and your body. After all, everything is connected. Long-term gum disease has been linked to increased heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.
And there we have it. Orthodontic treatment is not all about looks, but will also improve your health and wellbeing!
Click for more information about Invisalign in Bournemouth.
We’re based in Bournemouth and can easily be reached from Poole, Christchurch, Dorset and Hampshire.