Beyond The Smile: The Benefits of Straight Teeth To Your Oral Health

Straight teeth are often linked to improving someone’s smile. However, a good teeth alignment also hosts a lot of benefits for your oral health. In this post, we’ll share with you why achieving a good teeth alignment is a win-win not only for your appearance but also for your overall well-being. 

What do straight teeth look like?

Everyone has a different bone structure and set of teeth with varying shapes. The alignment of your teeth is measured based on spacing, orientation, and bite. Regardless of the differences in shape and size, aligned teeth must have the following features:

• The opposing and adjacent teeth must not overlap and sit well next to each other.
• The upper and lower teeth must hit lightly and feel comfortable when you bite.
• Your teeth should be upright and not leaning forward at the side of the lips or cheeks or backward at the side of the tongue. 
• Ideally, the upper and lower teeth should also form a smooth arc.

Benefits of straight teeth to your oral health and well-being

A good teeth alignment can keep you away from the risks of developing dental conditions and avoid impairing your speech and mouth functions. Aside from a perfect smile, working on your crooked teeth will let you reap the following benefits:

Less risk to develop tooth decay

Teeth with proper spacing make it easier to dislodge stuck food particles and plaque buildup whenever you brush and floss. Good teeth alignment and good oral hygiene are essential to keeping your teeth free from tooth decay and other dental conditions like gum disease. 

Easier to brush and floss

Crooked and overcrowded teeth create tight spaces in your mouth where food particles can get stuck. Due to improper teeth alignment, these hard-to-reach spaces make it difficult for you to get rid of plaque buildup and stuck food particles. It will also take a rigorous flossing routine to clean your teeth thoroughly. 

With straight teeth, you save yourself the time and effort in cleaning the nooks and crannies of misaligned teeth.  

Improves speech

Teeth that are upright and sit well next to each other make it easier for you to pronounce words and have good diction. Overbite and gaps in your teeth prevent proper tongue placement and limit the airflow when you talk or speak. If left untreated, it can lead to speech impairment or lisp.

No chewing and biting difficulties

Good teeth alignment contributes to the proper distribution of pressure when you bite. Complete and straight lower and upper teeth also help you chew and grind your food with ease. 

Crooked teeth can constantly encourage your jaws to adjust so you can chew well. The constant jaw adjustment will trigger your body to adapt to the new jaw pattern and develop bite issues in the long run.  

Encourages proper jaw development and prevents jaw-related problems

When there are gaps in your teeth, or you have crooked teeth, you’re at risk for bite issues. With a bite issue, your body will adapt to the improper bite and affect your jaw development. In the worst cases, it can lead to TMJ, headaches, and muscle strain on the jaw, temples, and neck. 

Achieve straighter teeth with SureSmile at Build-A-Smile

Though your misaligned teeth are not painful, leaving them untreated can cause dental problems down the road. You can prevent the domino effect of dental problems that start from crooked teeth with orthodontic treatments like SureSmile clear aligners. 

As a leading SureSmile provider in Charlotte, Build-A-Smile not only aims to create beautiful smiles but also improve the quality of life of our patients. We are happy to see them eat, speak, and chew better after their SureSmile treatment with us. You can experience that transformation too by scheduling an appointment today.