By Dr. Tarek O. Zaki, D.D.S.
Straight teeth can benefit your oral, mental and overall health. In this blog, you will learn the top 5 benefits of having straight teeth.
Top 5 Benefits of Having Straight Teeth
Your smile is your personal introduction. It is part of the first impression you give another person. It is important to you to have a nice bright smile with straight teeth. The cosmetic reasons for having a beautiful, straight smile are obvious, but having straight teeth goes beyond the cosmetics. It also has benefits for your oral, mental and overall health.
Here are the Top 5 Benefits of Having Straight Teeth
1. Self-Confidence
Straight teeth make you want to smile more during social interactions, and therefore, make you more attractive to other people. “99.7 of adults think a great smile is an important social asset.” Self-esteem can improve by creating a proportional and pleasing face, and this change can benefit you socially and at work or school.
During developmental years, having straight teeth can help teens be less appearance-conscious. As adults, straightening teeth may make a person actually look younger. A gap between the front two teeth or diastema may cause a person to speak with a whistle. Closing the gap between the teeth will result in clearer speech and boost confidence while speaking.
2. Healthier Teeth and Gums
Straight teeth are less likely to have food buildup compared to crooked teeth. Food buildup leads to more plaque, a colorless, sticky film made of bacteria, food and saliva. Plaque is then fed by carbohydrates that you eat or drink to cause cavities. Plaque left on the teeth starts to become tartar within 24 hours. Straight teeth are easier to clean with brushing and flossing, thus you keep a healthy mouth.
Crowded or gapped teeth can lead to red, swollen gums and gum disease which may result in heart disease or diabetes. “Oral bacteria can enter your bloodstream from your gums and affect the inner lining of blood vessels and brain,” Dr. Kakosian, an oral surgeon in New York states. Even though tooth plaque is not the same as the plaque found in arteries that can cause heart attacks, it is the same species of bacteria for both.
Straight teeth along with healthy gums are typically less sensitive to heat or cold, less likely to be discolored and lower your risk of expensive and/or painful dental problems later.
3. Overall health
When chewing is hard or painful, people typically do not fully break down the food in their mouth. This can contribute to digestive problems.
Gum disease has been linked to diabetes and heart disease. Tooth decay and gum disease, if untreated, can cause oral infections. Bad bites and tooth grinding due to alignment issues can lead to headaches and other facial problems, such as TMJ. If your teeth are straight and healthy, it contributes to your overall health. Everyone has heard that flossing daily can increase your life expectancy by 7 years, and flossing straight teeth is much easier and quicker than crooked teeth.
4. Less Wear and Tear
Each bite causes pressure on your teeth, and a misaligned bite results in an uneven distribution of that pressure. Crooked teeth can prematurely wear down and chip. They can also alter of the position of the mouth while chewing. This can be painful, and can present other issues such as TMJ dysfunction.
5. Protective Boundaries
When teeth are in their normal position in the mouth, they tend to be protected by the surrounding structures, such as the chin and the lips. If teeth stick too far out, they are much more liable to be chipped or fractured, from an accidental fall, sports injury, car accident or from someone hitting your mouth. By straightening your teeth, you decrease the chance of a broken tooth.
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althier teeth and gums, overall health, less wear and tear and having them in their normal protective boundaries are the Top 5 Benefits of Having Straight Teeth. I’m sure you have your own reason for wanting straight teeth. There is help available to straighten your teeth and get you that beautiful smile. Contact a trained and experienced orthodontist, and find out your options for orthodontic care.
Dr. Zaki is an experienced and educated orthodontist serving patients in Virginia Beach VA and surrounding cities. For questions about caring for your braces feel free to give us a call at 757-416-1100, or ask us a question on Facebook by clicking here.
Zaki Orthodontics in Virginia Beach Virginia is the practice of Dr. Tarek O. Zaki, D.D.S. He is an experienced orthodontist providing braces, Invisalign® and other orthodontic services to Virginia Beach and the surrounding cities in Hampton Roads, including Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Portsmouth Virginia. Dr. Zaki offers free, comprehensive, 2nd opinion examinations. For a full list of Zaki Orthodontics’ treatments and services click here. Click here to request an appointment online or call for a consultation. 757-416-1100
Sources: luvmysmile.com, dailyinfographic.com, invisalign.com, clarksvilledent.com, contributors.healthline.com, theepochtimes.com
Top and middle images are courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net by stockimages.