If you are an adult with crooked teeth, gaps in your teeth, or crowded teeth, you may have thought about braces.
You also may have dismissed the idea, thinking you are too old or that straight teeth are just about vanity.
And you would be wrong on both counts.
We understand that straight teeth look better, but that’s not the only reason you should be thinking about fixing your alignment problems. Straight teeth are often healthier and easier to keep clean, too.
That’s why our team at Beaumont Family Dentistry in Lexington offers orthodontics, and it’s why you may want to give it a second look.
Fighting Bacteria, Plaque, and Tartar
No matter what your teeth look like, you should be brushing twice a day and flossing daily.
Unfortunately, you may not be cleaning your mouth as well as you think you are if you have crooked or crowded teeth.
Crooked teeth can overlap one another, creating areas that you can’t reach with your toothbrush. These spaces are a perfect hiding spot for bacteria. This can lead to plaque buildup, which can lead to tartar.
All of this may cause tooth decay, which could cause pain, tooth sensitivity, and tooth loss.
If you have crowded teeth, then you may not be able to floss correctly between your teeth or between your teeth and gums. Again, this is a perfect place for bacteria to grow and for plaque and tartar to build.
This can lead to gum disease, which is both more common and more problematic than you may realize. Your gums could become sore and tender. Your infection could damage the bone that holds your teeth in place, and it could lead to your teeth feeling loose or falling out.
In contrast, you can clean straight teeth on all sides and from every angle.
You can work your dental floss or another interdental device between your teeth more easily, making it more likely that you will remove bacteria and plaque before they can cause tooth decay or gum disease.
A Better Bite
If you have an overbite, underbite, or crossbite, then you have more than just a cosmetic problem.
Overbites and underbites may affect the wear and tear on your teeth. This can affect the enamel on your teeth, which is the natural protection on the outside of your teeth. This is important for protecting your teeth from infections.
Bite issues also may affect how much pressure is placed on individual teeth within your mouth. Ideally, the work of biting into food and chewing it will be evenly distributed throughout your mouth.
Too much pressure can lead to problems with your temporomandibular joint, or TMJ. TMJ problems can lead to TMJ disorders, which can cause jaw, neck, and shoulder pain, headaches, and earaches.
Hopefully, you won’t experience these issues, although straighter teeth will reduce your risk of something like this happening.
Options For Your Orthodontic Care
At Beaumont Family Dentistry, we don’t just want to treat our patients; we want to provide the best orthodontic care available.
One example of that is Fastbraces®.
This orthodontic treatment can do everything that traditional braces can, but in half the time or less. How? We’re glad you asked.
Traditional braces have rectangular-shaped brackets. This is a tried-and-true system to straighten teeth, and it will continue to be used for the foreseeable future.
In contrast, Fastbraces® use triangular-shaped brackets. This affects the wires that connect the brackets and how your braces work.
It also allows Fastbraces® to move your crowns and your roots at the same time. Traditional braces move those parts of your teeth in separate steps. This explains why Fastbraces® work so much faster than traditional braces would on the same problem.
Even so, you may not like the idea of wearing braces at all. Thanks to Invisalign, you may not have to.
If your teeth alignment issue can be fixed with Invisalign — and many issues can be — then you can use plastic aligners instead of brackets, wires, and tiny rubber bands.
With Invisalign, your aligners need to be replaced every two weeks or so, and they are clear. This makes them practically invisible to the people you will be talking to on a daily basis.
Get Straight
Will orthodontic care make your teeth look better? Yes, straight teeth make for more attractive smiles. Maybe more importantly, straight teeth will help you keep your mouth healthier.
With improvements in dental care, you can now have your orthodontics treatments finished faster (with Fastbraces®) and more discreetly (with Invisalign) than ever before.
To learn which orthodontic option will be the most effective for you, contact any Beaumont Family Dentistry location in Lexington or make an appointment online by visiting the page for the office nearest to you.