Orthodontics are not just for kids. Everyone can benefit from a straighter smile and properly aligned jaw, regardless of their age. Adults have just as much to gain from orthodontic treatment and are perfectly suitable candidates.
Teeth and jaw misalignment affects your confidence, oral health, and quality of life. You have a greater risk of developing dental health problems, like tooth decay and gum disease. Moreover, you may already be experiencing difficulty breathing, chewing, and speaking. Even if your teeth are only a little crooked, it can still take a toll on your self-esteem.
Fortunately, adult orthodontics exists to correct all these issues, so you can live a healthy, vibrant life.
5 Important Benefits of Adult Orthodontic Treatments
1. Improve your dental health
The real problem with crooked, crowded, and gapped teeth is not how they look. Orthodontic issues actually affect your dental health, increasing your risk of cavities, tooth decay, and gum disease. When you undergo orthodontic treatment to correct your misaligned teeth, you’re taking a vital step in ensuring your long-term oral health.
It’s much more challenging to care for misaligned teeth. Even with diligent brushing and flossing, you will likely develop more cavities than someone with a perfectly straight smile. With overcrowded and crooked teeth, it is harder to reach nooks and crannies where food particles and bacteria can hide. This debris is often missed by brushing and flossing.
If not removed, those trapped bits of food, sugar, and bacteria will wreak havoc on your oral health. Naturally occurring oral bacteria feed on leftover food debris, producing acid and eating away at your precious tooth enamel. This leads to more plaque, tooth decay, and bad breath. You’re also at a higher risk of developing gingivitis or gum disease.
Orthodontic treatment corrects tooth misalignment, making it easier to maintain good oral hygiene at home. When your teeth are straight and appropriately spaced, there are fewer places for oral bacteria to hide.
2. Enhance the appearance of your smile
Of course, one of the key benefits of adult orthodontic treatment is aesthetic—and there’s nothing wrong with that! You are allowed to want (and have) a Hollywood-perfect smile. Orthodontic and cosmetic dentistry exist for that very reason: to help you finally have the smile of your dreams.
Life is too short to waste time hiding your smile. You should be able to smile, laugh, and talk without feeling self-conscious about your crooked or misaligned teeth. No more hiding your smile behind your hand when you’re feeling happy or laughing hard.
Improving your smile will give you a boost of self-confidence and self-esteem. You’ll be able to get more out of every day and start living life to the fullest. With your new sense of confidence and a new smile to match, you may find doors starting to open for you at work or in your love life.
How you feel about your appearance matters. Orthodontic treatment can help you turn over a new leaf.
3. Correct speech, breathing, and eating problems
Severe tooth misalignment or jaw malocclusion can impact your ability to speak, breathe, and eat effectively and easily. If you suffer from one of these complications, then you know how deeply it can affect your quality of life.
Some speech impediments are caused by misaligned teeth. Clear pronunciation can only happen when your teeth, lips, and tongue work in unison. Misaligned teeth get in the way of this delicate dance. It may be extremely difficult for you to pronounce certain sounds.
In some cases, improper teeth and jaw alignment obstruct your airway. This makes it much harder to breathe comfortably, especially when sleeping. Adult orthodontic treatment using braces can be highly effective in alleviating airway obstruction, allowing you to sleep better, reduce snoring, and have more energy in the morning.
Lastly, it’s easy to see how orthodontic issues can affect your eating and digestion. When your teeth are in the wrong places, you don’t chew as effectively. There may be some types of food that you have to avoid simply because they’re too difficult to chew. Orthodontic treatment facilitates more efficient chewing, resulting in improved digestion and overall health.
4. Alleviate jaw pain and chronic headaches
Traditional metal braces are also used to correct minor-to-mild jaw malocclusion or jaw misalignment. (Severe jaw malocclusion can require surgery.) In addition to causing breathing, speaking, and chewing issues, improperly aligned jaws can also be extremely painful.
When your teeth don’t fit together properly, the jaw muscles must work harder to compensate for the misalignment. Over time, this strain can lead to muscle fatigue, spasms, and chronic inflammation. Since the joint is also under regular tension, it begins to ache.
Without treatment, you may develop temporomandibular joint dysfunction, also known as a TMJ disorder. This presents as chronic pain in the jaw, often accompanied by a popping or clicking sound.
With orthodontic treatment, though, you can correct your bite problem and avoid these severe consequences. You can alleviate your chronic jaw pain and the headaches that often come with it.
5. Fix your persistent bad breath
Bad breath, or halitosis, is often a result of an overabundance of oral bacteria. While most bad breath goes away when you brush your teeth or rinse with mouthwash, some bacteria are not so easily vanquished.
As you now know, misaligned teeth can trap food particles and bacteria in the mouth. Since these hard-to-reach places are easily missed by brushing and flossing, they foster oral bacterial overgrowth. This leads to chronic and persistent bad breath.
With a straighter smile, you’ll be able to care for your teeth easier and more effectively. Better oral hygiene leads to fresher, better-smelling breath.
Types of Adult Orthodontics
Invisalign Clear Aligners
Many adults avoid orthodontic treatment because they do not want to wear metal braces. As self-conscious as they may feel about their crooked smile, they know they would feel even more self-conscious with braces. Fortunately, there’s another way.
Invisalign clear aligners are the most popular choice for adults looking to straighten their smiles. Made from a clear plastic, the trays are virtually invisible. They’re a highly discrete option for adults wanting to avoid the look of traditional braces. Invisalign is a highly effective way to correct tooth misalignment at any age.
Traditional Braces
Traditional metal braces still have a place in adult orthodontics. Severe tooth misalignment and bite problems often cannot be corrected with Invisalign. Complex cases require a bit more hardware.
However, at the end of your treatment, your smile will look more beautiful, your jaw pain will be alleviated, and your risk of other oral health complications will be dramatically reduced.
Ceramic Braces
Ceramic braces have brackets and wires, like traditional metal braces. However, the brackets are clear or tooth-coloured for a more natural and discrete look. They can treat a wider range of misalignment issues than Invisalign, while offering an aesthetic advantage over metal braces.
Lingual Braces
Lingual braces are another subtle alternative to metal tooth braces. The brackets and wires are placed on the back of your teeth, making them virtually invisible to others. They’re undetectable and highly effective.
Schedule Your Orthodontic Consultation at Bloor West Smiles
Bloor West Smiles is your local expert in smile care. We offer braces for every age, including adults. A straighter smile and properly aligned jaw can transform your quality of life, and we’re here to make it happen. Whether you prefer Invisalign or require traditional braces, our personalized treatment plans cater to your unique needs and smile goals.
Please contact us today to schedule your no-pressure orthodontic consultation. We’ll discuss your oral health and listen to your goals to determine which type of braces are best for you.
To learn more about our adult orthodontics services in Toronto, call Bloor West Smiles at 416-766-2853 or contact us here.
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