Are you thinking about getting braces or aligners? Are you already in orthodontic treatment? If so, you already know that braces and aligners help straighten teeth and create a confident, beautiful smile. And those visible benefits are amazing! But orthodontic treatment has an even more important purpose than creating a beautiful smile—and that’s protecting and improving your oral health.
What else can orthodontic treatment from Dr. Maryam Azadpur do for you?
Protect Your Tooth and Gum Health
- Lower Your Risk of Cavities
When teeth are crooked or overlap each other, it’s easier for cavity-causing plaque to get trapped between them, and harder to remove it. Straighter teeth let you remove plaque more easily and effectively.
- Keep Your Gums Healthy
When plaque and tartar build up around the gums, gum tissue becomes irritated and red, which is how gum disease begins. When teeth are straight and evenly spaced, brushing and flossing are easier and more effective, helping your gums stay their healthiest.
Create a Better, More Comfortable Bite
When the teeth and jaws don’t fit together the way they should when you close your mouth, it’s called a malocclusion, or bad bite. There are different types of bite problems, from barely noticeable to more serious, and they affect us in different ways. When your orthodontist corrects your bite, you’ll get benefits which don’t show up in the mirror!
- Stronger Teeth and Healthier Gums
Teeth and jaws which don’t fit together properly put extra pressure on your teeth and gums, which can cause worn enamel, cracked teeth, and shrinking gums. A well-aligned bite helps protect your teeth and gums.
- A Pain-Free Bite
Left untreated, malocclusions can cause problems like temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), headaches, face and neck pain, earaches, limited jaw movement, and painful chewing. Correcting your bite will help relieve the discomfort and pain caused by a malocclusion.
Other Possible Benefits
For people with more serious malocclusions, orthodontic treatment might improve daily life in unexpected ways:
- Improved Speech
It takes a lot of coordination to produce different sounds. The lips, the tongue, the alveolar ridge (the part of the jawbone which holds our teeth), the hard and soft palates, parts of the throat, and, yes, the teeth all play a part in creating speech. Some kinds of malocclusions contribute to speech disorders such as lisps, which orthodontic treatment can help correct.
- Improved Digestion
Digestion starts in the mouth, not the stomach! As we chew, we break down our food into small particles which are easier for the stomach to digest. If you can’t chew properly because your teeth are misaligned or a bad bite makes it too painful to chew food as thoroughly as you should, you won’t be getting the full nutritional benefits of your healthy diet. Orthodontic treatment helps you bite down painlessly and break down foods easily for better digestion.
- Improved Sleep
Bite problems can sometimes lead to sleepless nights. More serious malocclusions may cause mouth breathing, which, in turn, can affect the quality of your sleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping, your doctor can help you discover the source of your problems. If you can’t sleep because of tooth or jaw misalignment, orthodontic treatment might be the solution!
Talk to Dr. Maryam Azadpur to learn about all the options available to align your teeth and jaws for a healthy, attractive smile. Braces or aligners might be all you need to correct a mild malocclusion. Appliances and headgear can guide the growth and position of the jaw if needed. In some cases, surgery, together with braces, can be used to treat a more serious malocclusion.
If you want a more confident smile, stronger teeth and gums, and a comfortable, healthy bite, talk to the dental team at Simsbury Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry in Simsbury, CT to discover how orthodontic treatment can help you achieve all of your smile goals!
