A straight smile may look great, but it has a lot more health benefits than you might think. Did you know you can eat better, sleep better, and even speak better with straight teeth? Straight teeth have more physical health benefits than most people think, but they also provide self-confidence and self-esteem that can benefit your mental and emotional health as well. The differences between attractive crooked teeth vs. straight teeth attractiveness are hard to argue. Zombek Orthodontics strives to bring you the perfect forever smile not just for looks but also for your oral health and overall health.
Let’s look at some of the many benefits a straight smile can bring to you. What will straighter teeth mean to you?
Let’s face it: It’s not easy to brush and floss those crooked teeth! When your teeth are crooked, it’s more difficult to get all of the plaque off all of the surfaces of the teeth. That can lead to tartar buildup on your teeth — that hard, crusty stuff your dentist has to scrape off during a cleaning. Tartar and plaque buildup leads to tooth decay. You have a bigger chance of developing cavities, tooth discoloration, and gum disease if you can’t clean your teeth properly. Excessive plaque can also cause bad breath. No one wants that, right?
Straight teeth make it easier to keep them clean. With the smooth surfaces lined up properly, your toothbrush has a better chance to remove all of the plaque, which reduces tartar buildup and tooth decay. So the straighter your teeth, the lesser your chances of developing cavities, bad breath, gum disease, and other oral health issues.
Plaque and tartar don’t just affect your teeth. They can also damage your gums. Crooked teeth not only make it harder to keep your gums clean, but they can also create unwanted spaces between the soft tissue and the tooth. Food particles and plaque can get into these spaces, which can lead to inflammation and infection. This can lead to periodontal disease.
Gum disease is painful and breaks down the soft tissue, allowing the teeth to move. Extreme gum disease can lead to tooth loss and severe infection. You’ll have trouble eating, which will lead to overall health issues.
Straight teeth make it easier to keep the gums clean and healthy. You can brush and floss them easily, and healthy gums keep food particles away from your tooth roots and keep the tissue solid against the tooth. Healthy gums mean a healthy smile!
Your speech depends on the placement of your lips and tongue. Crooked teeth can get in the way of that. Your tongue may not be able to move and sit properly with certain sounds. Your speech could be slurred, or you could develop a slight lisp from crooked teeth.
Straight teeth allow your lips and tongue to move as they were meant, which means clearer, more concise speech. You won’t have to repeat things so much!
Crooked teeth make it harder to chew properly, putting unusual pressure on your jaw. Your jaws connect at the temporomandibular joint, and this joint can become sore from that excess pressure. Jaw pain at the joint is called temporomandibular joint disorder, commonly called TMJ.
TMJ disorder causes jaw pain, popping sounds when chewing, improper chewing, and inflammation. It can make it difficult to chew, particularly hard or chewy foods.
Straight teeth allow you to chew properly, eliminating that excess pressure on your jaw that leads to TMJ disorder. That means you can chew without popping sounds or pain!
If you have problems chewing, you have problems digesting. That’s because digestion starts in your mouth. As you chew, your saliva begins to break down the food and separate out the good stuff — the nutrients. This happens because your teeth break apart the food and allow the saliva to get to it.
Crooked teeth don’t come together properly like straight teeth do, so they aren’t able to break down the food as well. You end up digesting less in your mouth, and you swallow larger bites of the food. Larger bites mean more work for your stomach and gut. This can lead to indigestion, gas, and lack of proper nutrient absorption.
Straight teeth connect as they’re meant to do, so they can tear apart the food faster and easier. Proper chewing means more digestion takes place in your mouth, which makes it easier on the stomach and gut. So if you’re experiencing tummy issues, your crooked teeth may be a factor!
Obviously, if you have problems digesting, it will affect your overall health. That’s because digestion is how you get your nutrients. Without them, you can experience everything from weak bones and muscles to fatigue and even heart problems.
The ability to chew properly is vital to your overall health. Crooked teeth can make chewing and digestion more difficult, while straight teeth can make both much easier. If you enjoy eating healthy foods, you’ll want to take advantage of all those great nutrients. Straight teeth can help you do that.
One of the biggest advantages of straightening your teeth is the self-confidence and self-esteem you will gain. More self-confidence and self-esteem will improve your emotional and mental health.
Admittedly, crooked teeth aren’t as attractive as straight teeth. Your smile creates a huge first impression, and crooked teeth can diminish that impression. A straight, radiant smile can welcome people to you and create a positive image of you from the start.
Because your straight teeth are cleaner, it also means your first impression won’t include really bad breath. Bacteria and infection can lead to some seriously nasty breath. That’s not a good way to make a first impression!
Your teeth are about more than just creating that first impression. Positive responses from people can build your confidence and reduce your stress and anxiety. That improves your emotional and mental health, which are just as important as your physical health.
Self-confidence and self-esteem are so important to mental and emotional health, especially for teenagers already going through normal teenage angst. Teenagers who hide their smile may be afraid to show off their teeth. This can damage a first impression, but it can also damage the teen’s mental and emotional health. Crooked teeth can also damage physical health, both in the short- and long term. That’s why treating crooked teeth with braces or Invisalign is so important.
The team at Zombek Orthodontics understands the importance of straight teeth not only to oral health but also to overall health. We want you to have a smile you can be proud to show off, both now and for years to come. We offer a variety of orthodontic options, from self-ligating and LightForce braces to Invisalign and Invisalign Teen. We provide treatment to kids and adults because we know it’s never too late to have the smile of your dreams!
If you’re ready for straight teeth and better oral and overall health, start with a virtual consult and tell us what you’d like to see in your smile. We’ll bring you in for a no-obligation, thorough evaluation and lay out your best treatment options.
You deserve the smile of your dreams, and you deserve to be your healthiest self. We can show you how a new smile can lead to a new you!
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