Braces Do More Than Just Straighten Teeth.

Braces, no doubt, will provide you with a beautiful straight smile.  But there are many reasons besides cosmetic, that wearing braces is important to your health.

Poorly Aligned Teeth Can Cause:

·         Speech Impediment.  The placement of the tip of your tongue, on your teeth, impacts the proper sounds of “d”, “n” and “t”.  Poor alignment of your teeth will compromise those sounds, making it difficult to articulate certain words.

·         Difficulty Chewing and Tooth Wear.  When teeth do not have a chewing partner that lines up properly, chewing can be a challenge and will result in wear of the teeth.  If a tooth that is meant to rip and tear (i.e. canine or eye tooth) is chewing with a tooth meant to grind (i.e. pre-molar), both of these teeth will wear and flatten in an unnatural way.  Once teeth wear and flatten you can’t get the ‘height’ of the tooth back.  Resulting in more complicated and expensive restorative corrections.

·         Jaw and TMJ Pain.  Like stated above, if the teeth are not lined up properly, it makes it difficult to chew.  In order to chew your jaw and jaw joints (TMJ) have to contort and change to allow for chewing.  Overtime this can cause damage to the joints and result in:  TMJ pain, muscle pain in the jaw and headaches.

·         Gum Disease.  Crowded, rotated and overlapped teeth making brushing and flossing difficult.  Not only in terms of the actual act of getting floss in between tight spaces, but also bacteria is able to ‘hide out’ in more areas.  The more bacteria allowed to stay on your teeth and gums, will create: gingivitis, gum sensitivity and bleeding gum tissue. 

·         Sleep Apnea.  An overbite occurs when the lower jaw and teeth are positioned more towards the back of the mouth.  The upper jaw than appears more forward.  People with an excessive overbite are more at risk for sleep apnea because that lower jaw is pushed so far back that it can pinch the airway.  In fact a lot of many people who snore have an overbite. 

So yes, braces will straighten your teeth, but they also can improve so many other aspects of your dental and physical health.  So if you or your child is experiencing any of the above symptoms of poorly aligned teeth, it may be time to consider braces.  

Ack! My Gums Bleed When I Brush!

In a nut shell bleeding gums are caused by poor plaque removal.  Plaque has germs in it that attack healthy tissue around the teeth.  This causes the gums to become swollen and irritated and thus bleeding is seen when brushing and flossing.  This is the first stage of gum disease.  If you notice any type of bleeding - light or heavy - you have gingivitis. 

If there is a positive thing about gingivitis it is this:  it can be reversed.  Like all germs there is power in numbers.  So if plaque germs sit on your teeth, they reproduce and multiply.  Brushing and flossing disrupts plaque germs from doing just that.  If they can’t reproduce there aren’t enough of them around to break down gum tissue.  Getting rid of plaque germs will reverse bleeding and gingivitis.

Plaque germs can form quickly and they love carbohydrates.  A diet heavy in carbs, is the perfect environment for plaque germs to thrive.  So depending, plaque germs can form anywhere between 5 minutes and 4 hours after brushing.  Which is why brushing at least twice a day is necessary to keep the plaque germs at bay.

Brushing will rid plaque germs from fronts and the backs of your teeth, however brushing will do nothing to the germs between your teeth.  Since gingivitis typically starts between your teeth and spreads from there, it makes it that much more important to floss.   So get those plaque germs out of your mouth everyday!  You’ll notice healthy gums that don’t bleed, better breath and a healthier smile!