Crooked teeth are a problem, and their effect on your smile’s appearance isn’t the only reason why. This can significantly impact your daily life, but the real problem with crooked teeth is how they affect pretty much every other part of your oral health, as well. The point of customizing orthodontic treatment is to help you avoid these problems, as well as enhance the appearance of your smile, by effectively straightening your crooked teeth. The longer you wait to do so, the more likely it is you’ll experience one of the following problems in the meantime.
You’re getting cavities more often
Cavities affect your tooth structure directly. They’re caused by tooth decay, or infection, that results when oral bacteria overwhelm your teeth. While having crooked teeth doesn’t guarantee you’ll start getting cavities all the time, it does make it more likely by making it easier for oral bacteria to gather en masse and attach your teeth. Over time, your untreated tooth misalignment can be made more complicated by the presence of decay in one or more teeth, or in a tooth that’s already been treated for it.
Your gums can’t fit around your teeth right
The oral bacteria that account for tooth decay aren’t the only ones that find it easier to accumulate and hide between crooked teeth. There are several hundreds of different types of oral bacteria, in fact, and some of them also lead to gum disease (the most frequent cause of tooth loss). When your teeth are out of alignment, and are constantly forced further out of alignment from your bite’s pressure, the gums that surround their roots can start to separate from them. The resulting pockets between your gums and teeth give oral bacteria a direct path to your teeth roots and the areas beneath your gums, making gum disease almost imminent if not addressed promptly.
Your jaw joints can’t move at the same time
How your teeth aligned determines how they meet each other when you bite down. When they’re aligned properly, they can meet each other at the same time, making it easy for your jaw joints and muscles to move your jaw up and down at the same time. When your teeth aren’t aligned right, some will meet their opposites before others do, and the jaw joint on that side of your mouth will stop as the other continues to move. The stress this can create on your jaw joints is immense, and the jaw dysfunction that results can lead to a wide range of severe pain and discomfort.
Fix the main problem with orthodontic treatment
Crooked teeth are a problem all their own, but they can also cause several more the longer you leave them misaligned. To learn how we can correct it with orthodontic treatment, schedule an appointment by calling Creekside Family Dental Care in Columbia, TN, today at (931) 388–3384.