Although braces are primarily associated with teens and adults, anyone can benefit from them, including adults. If your teeth are imperfect and you want a better smile and more confidence, your dentist can recommend braces. However, braces do not solve all dental-related problems. You must have an issue that braces can fix and be suitable for wearing braces. You must also be willing to undergo a lengthy treatment process to enjoy the full benefits of orthodontic treatment. Here are some of the signs that you need braces:
Your Teeth are Crooked
If your teeth are visibly crooked, it can affect your smile and confidence. It could be why you feel shy around people and have difficulties enjoying fun with family, friends, or colleagues. How your teeth appear significantly affects how you feel about yourself. Thus, fixing crooked teeth can be one of the ways you regain control of your feelings and start becoming more confident and social. Braces are a perfect treatment for crooked teeth. After installation, braces gradually align your teeth, ensuring all your teeth and jawbone return to their rightful position in the mouth.
Your confidence resumes immediately after you start treatment and once you notice some changes in your teeth. Once the treatment is complete, you will eventually enjoy how you feel and look.
Crooked teeth are also difficult to keep clean. This puts you at risk of dental issues like cavities and gum disease. When most of your teeth are crooked, they make it difficult to reach in some areas when brushing and flossing. This leaves some areas of your teeth uncleaned and could leave some food stuck between your teeth. These combine with harmful bacteria to form buildups or calculus, the leading cause of cavities and gum disease.
Once braces align your crooked teeth, you can comfortably and effectively keep your teeth clean, reducing your risk of cavities.
You Frequently Cut or Bite Your Teeth
Your teeth are not designed to harm your tongue or any other part of your mouth. However sharp your teeth are, they must be fine for you. Sadly, some people experience all kinds of accidents when talking, yawning, or eating. This indicates that your teeth have an issue that a dentist should fix. In most cases, people who frequently bite or cut their tongue with their teeth do so because they are misshapen or misaligned. Fortunately, dentists have solutions to these problems, including installing braces to align the teeth.
When teeth are handled carefully and appropriately aligned, biting becomes challenging. Sometimes, you accidentally hurt your tongue or the inside of your cheeks. Braces align your teeth, making speaking, chewing, or biting easier without cutting your tongue. Fixing misaligned teeth also comes with many other oral health benefits. For example, it removes the difficult-to-clean areas in the mouth, which are perfect breeding grounds for harmful bacteria.
Thus, your dentist can recommend braces if you explain how you frequently cut or bite your tongue. They will also explain the installation process and how braces will fix your problem over time.
You Experience Difficulties when Brushing or Flossing Your Teeth
Brushing and flossing are oral health habits that dentists highly recommend. You must brush twice daily or after every meal to remove debris and foods from your teeth, gums, and tongue. Flossing should be done every day to remove stuck foods from your teeth. If you have trouble brushing or flossing effectively, you will likely experience many oral health problems, including bad breath, cavities, gum disease, and oral infections. Thus, you must seek help from your dentists immediately after experiencing these difficulties.
You could be experiencing these difficulties because your teeth are misaligned. Misaligned teeth do not develop as they should, leaving just enough space between them for effective cleaning—some overwrap, making it challenging to brush at the overlapping point. People with crowded teeth will also experience difficulties when brushing or flossing. This is due to insufficient space between teeth to keep them clean effectively. These are issues that braces can fix. When you wear braces, they gradually align your teeth over the treatment period. Braces ensure each tooth takes its proper position on the jawbone. They also align the jawbone to prevent the recurrence of the same problem.
You Experience Difficulties Pronouncing Some Words
How you pronounce words is critical for effective communication. It also determines your ability to socialize and confidence. People who have pronunciation issues are shy and lack adequate confidence. Although several factors determine how well or otherwise you pronounce, your teeth play a vital role. Dental problems are some of the reasons many people struggle to pronounce some words. If this is an issue you are battling, your dentist can recommend braces to fix the underlying problem and permanently solve your pronouncing issue.
If your teeth are crooked or misaligned, they can interfere with your tongue’s position in the mouth. This could be the reason you cannot pronounce some words well. Braces align your teeth, freeing your tongue and allowing you to pronounce correctly without difficulties. If your pronunciation has affected your confidence, starting the treatment journey will boost your confidence. You will start feeling better about yourself as your treatment progresses.
However, how you enjoy your treatment will depend on the type of braces you choose. Your dentist will guide you in selecting braces that suit your needs and preferences. Some people prefer the traditional metal braces, while others prefer the invisible clear aligners. Take time to understand your options for easier decision-making.
Your Teeth are Protruding
Protruding teeth are a significant problem in how you look and feel about yourself and how you speak, eat, or otherwise use your teeth. People whose teeth are protruding are generally shy. They have difficulties socializing because they lack confidence and have low self-esteem. Protruding teeth will also affect how you pronounce some words. It will affect how you bite and chew foods. Difficulties chewing foods could result in other health-related issues like indigestion. Fortunately, your dentist can fix protruding teeth with braces. You can talk to them about your challenges and dental needs to help you choose the proper treatment.
Braces will align your teeth and gums to give you a perfect look and smile. They will push the protruding gum back to its rightful position over the treatment period. However, you must wear the braces for the recommended period to enjoy excellent results. If you choose removable clear aligners, your dentist will advise you to wear them for at least 22 hours daily for effective results. You must also visit your dentist regularly within the treatment period to ensure your braces work as they should. The dentist will make the necessary adjustments to the braces to keep the treatment going.
If You Have a Bite Problem
A good bite occurs when your upper and lower teeth come together naturally when you bite down. This is what natural teeth are designed to do. A good and natural bite helps you eat, brush, and speak well. It also does not strain the jawbone, protecting you from pain and other TMJ-related issues. Sadly, this is not something many people enjoy. Some people have underbites, and others have overbites. An underbite occurs when your lower teeth protrude past the upper teeth when you bite down. An overbite occurs when your upper teeth overlap the lower teeth when you bite down.
Bite problems are one of the leading causes of common dental and oral issues. They affect your appearance, speech, how you eat, and your smile. A bite issue will also impact your self-esteem and confidence, making it difficult for you to socialize and make friends.
Since braces align teeth and straighten the jawbone, they are a perfect treatment for an underbite or overbite. Once your teeth are correctly aligned, they come together nicely when you bite down. You will no longer worry about recurring jaw pain, smile, or chewing issues.
You Have Large Gaps Between Your Teeth
Although natural teeth have some gaps between them, they should be minimal. This allows all your developing teeth to fit naturally on your gums. It also ensures that fewer foods are trapped between your teeth, which could encourage the growth of harmful bacteria. If some of your teeth are overly spaced, it could be time to wear braces. They will push all your teeth to their proper position on the gum, leaving enough space between them for adequate growth.
Overly spaced teeth affect your smile and confidence, and they could also affect how you speak. People with overly spaced teeth are at a higher risk of cavities and gum disease. The excessive spaces between teeth become perfect breeding grounds for harmful bacteria. They are also difficult to reach with regular brushing. Braces will fix these issues, restoring your smile, confidence, and oral health.
You Experience Jaw Pain and Headaches
Sometimes, it is difficult to tell if you have teeth misalignment issues, especially if your teeth appear perfectly aligned. However, you could experience some symptoms like jaw pain and headaches, which indicate an untreated misalignment issue. When you visit your dentist with these symptoms, they will examine your teeth and jaw to determine the cause of your jaw pain. They will likely recommend braces to align your jaw and teeth.
Misalignment makes it difficult to chew food correctly. You exert more pressure than you would typically with properly aligned teeth. Excessive pressure on the jaw causes jaw pain and headaches, which could eventually result in a TMJ disorder.
Dentists recommend wearing braces to correct misalignment and other resulting problems, including jaw pain. Braces also prevent jawbone erosion, which occurs when you continually exert unnecessary pressure on the jaw. The erosion weakens the jaw, making it difficult to open and close your mouth, chew, or even smile.
Signs That Your Child Needs Braces
Remember that braces can benefit people of all ages, including children and adults. While it is easier for an adult to notice some of the abovementioned signs, a child will not. However, you can observe the following signs as an indication that your child needs braces:
- They are breathing through the mouth
- They are thumb-sucking or use a pacifier even after turning two
- Their teeth are visibly crooked or crowded (baby teeth or permanent teeth)
- You hear popping or clicking sounds when they open their mouth or yawn
- They lost their baby teeth too late or early
- There are visible gaps between their teeth
- They frequently cut or bite their tongue or the inside part or roof of their mouth
- Their teeth are visibly misaligned
- Their mouth does not close properly
If you are worried about the appearance of your child’s teeth or any other dental problem, you should visit a dentist immediately. Your dentist will thoroughly examine their teeth, gums, and jawbones to recommend the best treatment. If the dentist recommends braces, they explain the treatment process to the child. It helps to prepare your child about what to expect during and after treatment to put their mind at rest. Fortunately, children react to orthodontic treatment because their gums, jawbone, and teeth are still developing. It is easier to achieve effective therapy with braces on children than adults.
Find Competent Dental Care Services Near Me
You could need braces if your teeth are misaligned, misshapen, or crowded or if you experience jaw pain and headaches. Braces are an orthodontic treatment that aligns your teeth and jawbone to ensure all teeth occupy their rightful position in the mouth. Braces treat a wide range of dental problems, including bite issues. They also enhance your smile and confidence and boost your self-esteem.
If you are a suitable candidate for braces in Lakewood, our braces experts at The Lakewood Dentist will recommend them. However, we first conduct an in-depth examination of your teeth, jawbone, gums, and underlying structures to determine the effectiveness of braces on the underlying dental issue. We will also explain the treatment process, what to expect after treatment, and how to care for your braces during the treatment period. Call us at 562-423-1441 to learn more.