Millions of Americans wear clear aligners (ie: Invisalign®) or conventional braces, including preteens, teens, and a surprisingly large number of adults. Orthodontic treatment offers plenty of benefits for patients, including some benefits you might not know about.
As a leading provider of orthodontic treatment for patients in Cupertino and Palo Alto, California, Constant and Contro Orthodontics tailors every treatment to each patient’s unique needs and treatment goals. In this post, our team offers seven reasons you should consider clear aligners or braces for yourself or your child.
This is perhaps the most common reason people seek orthodontic treatment — they want their smile to look its absolute best. There’s no denying that when your teeth are straight, your smile looks great. Straight teeth and a symmetrical smile just look healthier and more attractive — to you and to other people too.
When teeth are crooked or misaligned, they create tiny nooks and crannies where bacteria and food particles can collect. Bacteria feed on food particles, and as they grow, they create acids that can eat into your tooth enamel. With straight teeth, those nooks and crannies disappear, making it a lot harder for decay-causing bacteria to gain a foothold.
Going back to those nooks and crannies, the bacteria that lodge between your teeth and gums hide in sticky plaque deposits. As the bacteria release acids, your gums pull away from your tooth surface, and the infection spreads toward your tooth roots. Over time, that means gum disease, along with receding gums and, eventually, loose teeth and tooth loss.
Brushing and flossing work best when teeth are properly aligned and evenly spaced. When teeth are crooked, it’s harder for brushing and flossing to do their jobs, which means your oral hygiene can suffer, even if you follow brushing and flossing guidelines. Inadequate brushing and flossing increases the risks of cavities, gum disease, and chronic bad breath, as well as deep infections or abscesses.
Your teeth are “designed” to work in pairs — upper teeth and bottom teeth — every time you bite, chew, or even speak. When your teeth are crooked, your bite balance is thrown off, and your jaw joints are subjected to uneven pressure and strain. Over time, that can lead to jaw pain, uneven tooth wear, increased risk of cavities and tooth breakage, and a chronic condition called temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ or TMD). Straightening your teeth optimizes your bite balance to reduce jaw strain and the problems it can cause.
When you're paying for orthodontics, it might seem unusual to think of it as actually saving you money. But getting straighter teeth isn’t just an investment in your looks — it’s an investment in better oral health, too. Reduced risk of cavities, gum disease, and bite patterns means less risk of future oral health problems, and that translates directly into savings for you.
Having a great-looking smile doesn’t just improve your appearance — it gives a big boost to your self-confidence, too. Why? Because your smile is often the feature people notice first about you. Knowing your smile looks great helps you feel better about the impression you’re making, and it helps you feel better about yourself, too.
Orthodontic treatment is an important investment in your oral health and your quality of life. To learn how you can benefit from treatment, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Constant and Contro Orthodontics today.
