There are very few adults out there who were lucky enough to not ever need to straiten their teeth. For the rest of us, there were those awkward teenage years where you had a mouth full of metal braces, food restrictions, and painful orthodontic visits.
So why do we need to have strait teeth other than for the obvious aesthetic reasons?
The reasons are very simple. While having strait teeth is more attractive, serious dental issues can arise if you ignore your teeth's alignment.
Reason 1: PERIODONTITIS (a.k.a., gum disease)
Teeth that are misaligned require extra cleaning in order to get everything harmful out from between your teeth.When your teeth are crooked it gives food particles and bacteria more nooks a crannies in between your teeth to hide. Most of the time this leads to missed areas where the bacteria flourish and feed on residual food and thereby cause severe gum disease.
Reason 2: TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER (TMJ)
Do you find yourself suffering from headaches, jaw pain, lock jaw, and teeth grinding? These are the symptoms of TMJ. Cooked teeth can aggravate or even cause you to experience TMJ.
Reason 3: TOOTH INJURY/WEAR & TEAR
When you bite down and chew on properly aligned teeth your upper and lower jaws should fit together perfectly. When your teeth are crooked or crowded you are placing unnecessary force on certain teeth causing tooth enamel to wear away and possibly nerve damage in your roots.
If you would like to know a reason why we have crooked and crowded teeth in the first place take a look at this article published on Science/AAAS.
Now how can your crooked teeth be straitened? There are 2 ways: Traditional metal braces (but who would want to go through that?) or Clear Aligners.
What are the benefits of Clear Aligners over traditional metal braces?
1. No food restrictions!
2. They are removable! (It is way easier to floss your teeth without having to thread floss through your braces.)
3. Nearly invisible! (If you're over 17 metal braces just don't look professional.)
Think you would like to give Clear Aligners a try? Come to our Invisalign Open House!
