Nowadays, there is a lot of focus on our smiles, especially with social media. All of our smiles are unique; the shape of our teeth and smiles are special to us.
Many people have issues with coloration or alignment that they desire to fix. However, some people like their smile to have “character.” If you are comfortable with your smile, you shouldn’t feel pressure to change your smile for looks.
Yet, fixing crooked teeth is not purely for aesthetics. Sometimes having misaligned teeth can cause several dental problems. Additionally, crooked teeth can affect your nutrition and speech. Therefore, if your dentist recommends straightening your teeth, it may be beneficial to your overall health.
Premature Wear and Tear
With misaligned teeth, your bite cannot sit properly. A dentist refers to the way your teeth touch as your bite. If you have crooked teeth or jaw misalignment, then your dentist will call this a “bad bite” or malocclusion. Unfortunately, bad bites can cause your teeth to wear down prematurely.
It is normal for your teeth to experience wear over a lifetime. However, crooked teeth can wear away much faster. This is because bad bites put pressure on the wrong places of your teeth.
Rather than pressure sitting in the middle of your teeth, the pressure can be on the front or ridges of your teeth. Unfortunately, this can cause them to wear faster than average. In addition, you may be more likely to break or chip your teeth.
If you straighten your teeth, they sit more naturally in your mouth. This helps equalize the pressure across your teeth.
Problems Eating
When you have crooked teeth, you may have problems while eating. It is possible to feel pain or discomfort as you chew. For example, you may have experienced the sharp, uncomfortable pain from misstriking your teeth after eating too fast. With crooked teeth, you can feel this more often.
It is possible to feel pain each time you eat, which can affect your eating habits. If you feel pain every time you eat, you may avoid eating as often as you need. Some patients may become malnourished since they cannot eat properly.
Susceptible to Tooth Decay
If your teeth are crooked, it can make it difficult to clean your teeth efficiently. This can cause plaque to build up on every surface of your mouth. Plaque is a type of harmful bacteria that destroys your enamel. Without removal, plaque will erode away your enamel, the protective layer of your teeth.
Once plaque damages the enamel, you are more susceptible to developing tooth decay and gum disease. In addition, plaque irritates the soft tissues of the gums, causing inflammation. This is the first stage of gum disease, which is an infection of the gums.
Even if you brush and floss your teeth regularly, you can still develop tooth decay. Some crooked teeth make removing all plaque from your teeth and gums nearly impossible.