Getting braces is one of those things that people often think about but struggle to deal with the idea of actually going through. Braces require a commitment to your oral health and appearance. However, it might intrigue you to know that getting braces now could potentially keep you out of the dentist's chair later on. Here's what you could be saving yourself from by getting braces.
Tooth Decay
Tooth decay is a common problem that people with overcrowded teeth experience. It's hard enough keeping evenly-crowded teeth clean, after all. Without flossing, gum disease or tartar is likely to follow. However, matters get even tougher with overcrowded teeth.
Getting the bristles of a toothbrush between overcrowded teeth is nearly impossible. In some cases, a big portion of one or more of the teeth may be completely covered by its neighboring tooth, preventing you from cleaning it at all. Getting floss between them may also be hard.
By getting braces, you ensure that you have adequate space between all your teeth, making it easier to clean them. This will reduce your risk of having cavities in the future.
Grinding Damage
When teeth aren't aligned properly, they can often experience damage from grinding together. This happens because your jaw can't rest with both sets of teeth perfectly lined up on top of each other. So any teeth that are jutting up higher than the rest will take excessive pressure. This can cause damage to the teeth, changing their shape and functionality. If tooth grinding goes on for long enough, it can wear down the tooth to the point where the underlying soft tissues of the tooth are exposed. This is a very painful thing to have happen, and it can cause severe oral health issues.
Tooth Loss
Lastly, overcrowded teeth are more likely to be lost than those that are properly spaced. One of the reasons why is the aforementioned grinding. Excessive pressure on a tooth for too long can cause permanent damage to its root, especially if the dentin becomes exposed.
However, there's also another way that this can happen. Teeth need to distribute pressure to your jaw bone in order to keep it strong and healthy. However, when your teeth aren't in the right places, parts of the jaw can become weakened or thinner. This can ultimately cause tooth loss, which will make the situation even worse.
Getting braces isn't about vanity; it's actually a simple step you can take to ensure that you have good oral health in the future. Talk to a dental office like Chikes Orthodontics and make a plan to get braces now to protect yourself later on.
Share28 November 2018
My name is Cicely Davenport and if you need to get dentures, but you have questions about them, I invite you to read my blog to learn the answers. I too needed to get dentures but I wanted to find out everything I could about them before I committed. I read all about full dentures and partial dentures, and the difference between each of the two kinds. I went ahead and got a full set of dentures and I really like how they look and feel. I want to help others who are also thinking about dentures and you can learn a lot about them when you read my blog.
