If you are an adult with misaligned teeth, it's never too late to have them fixed! More adults are undergoing orthodontic treatment than ever, and for good reason. Just because you're not a teenager doesn't mean you have to continue to live with crooked teeth. Learn the benefits of orthodontics for adults.
As an adult, you may also feel that orthodontic treatment is merely cosmetic, and not worth bothering with as you get older. While people do get braces or Invisalign for cosmetic purposes, there are many other benefits in choosing to have an orthodontic treatment for straighter teeth.
Why Have an Orthodontic Treatment as an Adult?
Left untreated, orthodontic problems like misaligned or crowded teeth can lead to a range of oral health concerns, including tooth decay, gum disease, tooth loss, and other issues. Wearing braces or receiving another orthodontic treatment gives you straighter teeth and a reduced risk of these issues.
Correct Malocclusions and Other Orthodontic Problems
Orthodontic care, including braces, help correct malocclusions, where the teeth are positioned incorrectly when biting. These can cause you to clench or grind your teeth, causing premature wear and tear on them, as well as abnormal wearing. The jaw joints, gums, and jaw bone can be negatively impacted. Left untreated, you may also start to experience headaches and pain in the face, jaw, or neck.
Malocclusions worsen over time, so although you may not have noticed issues already, you could in future, and having them treated prevents further damages.
Improve Oral Hygiene
Brushing and flossing crowded or crooked teeth properly is more difficult, as it can be harder to fully reach all areas. Food, debris, and bacteria can get trapped between teeth more easily. With straighter teeth, it is easier to maintain excellent oral hygiene for better oral health. It's never too late to make things easier for yourself, including your oral hygiene.
Reduce Risks of Tooth Decay And Gum Disease
It is harder to care for misaligned teeth as bacteria and plaque have more opportunity to build up on your teeth and gums in all the little spots you can’t get to.
Eventually, this can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. By making good oral hygiene easier and eliminating areas where food and bacteria can become trapped, the risks of tooth decay and gum infections are lowered.
This in turn reduces the risks of tooth loss, since tooth decay is a common cause of this.
Manage Existing Gum Disease
If you already have a periodontal infection, there are still benefits to orthodontic care. Periodontal disease is harder to manage with misaligned teeth, so an orthodontic treatment can help.
Treat Temporomandibular Joint Disorder
Malocclusions negatively impact how your teeth come together to bite, and this impacts how your temporomandibular joint (TMJ), or jaw, moves. Awkward bites compromise how your joint can move when speaking or chewing, and it can't move naturally. This leads to undue stresses and pressure on the jawbone, joint and jaw muscles.
Eventually, this can result in temporomandibular joint disorder. This condition can be very painful, causing tenderness or pain in the jaw, headaches, facial pain, and earaches.
Straightening crooked teeth with an orthodontic treatment to reduce these stresses can prevent or manage your TMJ disorder.
Have Fewer Dental Emergencies
Teeth that protrude or are at angles can be knocked out or chipped more easily, and are more vulnerable to other dental injuries. With braces or another orthodontic treatment, you can achieve straight teeth that are less susceptible to these types of dental injuries.
Speak and Eat More Easily
Crooked teeth impact how you speak, and cause speech impairments like lisping. They can also make it more difficult to eat. Correcting this, for easier, more natural speaking and eating, can benefit people of any age.
Prevent Bone Loss
Orthodontic treatment can even help avoid dental and facial irregularities from bone loss.
The roots of teeth stimulate bone growth in the jawbone when the teeth on top generate pressure from chewing and biting. This pressure in the roots is critical in maintaining bone density. With well-aligned teeth, this pressure is even, to stimulate bone growth throughout, but with a malocclusion or crooked teeth, areas may not receive pressure and be stimulated.
With bone loss, teeth can become loose and eventually fall out, as they are not secured fully. This leads to even further bone loss. Preventing this cycle is important for patients of all ages.
Save Money
You can save money in the long run, as orthodontic care can be a more cost-effective choice. Orthodontics can prevent more severe dental procedures that are more expensive, such as dental implants or bone grafting.
Consult an Orthodontist
At Waterloo West Dentistry, we offer a range of orthodontic treatment options, including orthodontic surgery, aligning treatments, and other orthodontic services. Our clear alignment treatment options are more comfortable and discreet compared to traditional metal braces.
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