The thing about crooked teeth is that they can affect your oral health at almost any point in your life. While malocclusion, or bite imbalance, is often detected and treated in early childhood, it may not appear for many patients until much later in life. By then, adult patients who are told they need orthodontic treatment can be much more worried about how braces will make their smiles look. At our Ft. Worth, TX, orthodontic office, we can provide a wide range of options to help patients of all ages correct their crooked teeth, as well as the many conditions that can often be blamed on your tooth misalignment.
1. Your smile’s appearance
The appearance of your smile is often the most noticeable consequence of crooked teeth. For patients who are busy professionals, their smiles’ appearance is also a significant reason why many of them choose to avoid braces. However, the longer you ignore your condition, the more obvious crooked teeth can become, and the impact they have on your oral health will become much more serious. Straightening your crooked teeth can correct your smile’s appearance, and the right custom orthodontic treatment can help you keep your treatment more discreet.
2. The state of your oral health
As your teeth become more out of alignment, their appearance isn’t the only thing that’s affected. For example, tooth alignment is important when it comes to keeping your teeth clean and healthy every day. If certain teeth have corners or edges that are pushed behind others, you may not be able to completely clean them. Your toothbrush and floss won’t be able to remove as much harmful oral bacteria, which increases your risks of developing issues like tooth decay, gum disease, and chronic bad breath resulting from excessive oral bacteria.
3. Your bite’s balance and function
Every time you bite and chew, your upper and lower teeth must meet each other squarely. If they don’t, then the muscles and joints that control your jaw’s movement can be thrown off-balance. Crooked teeth are a common disruption to this balance, and neglecting to straighten them can have an increasingly more negative impact on your bite function. For example, stress and damage to your jaw joints can lead to TMJ disorder, which includes chronic pain in your jaw, face, head, neck, shoulders, and more.
Correct crooked teeth with custom treatment
When your teeth aren’t aligned correctly, the imbalance can have a significant effect on every other aspect of your oral health, as well. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Lake Country Orthodontics in Fort Worth, TX today at (817) 236-7846.
