If you’ve ever been in a mall before, you likely didn’t have to travel far to be surrounded by countless advertisements in magazines, posters, and television commercials featuring models with perfectly straight teeth. Maybe even a group of teens walked by with their shiny braces, or a flyer caught your eye about Invisalign.
Straight teeth are everywhere! They’re so popular, it’s sometimes hard to believe we’d want our smile to look any other way. But do we need to straighten our teeth?
The Truth Is In Your Smile
Beyond their pearly white, symmetrical appearance, straight teeth have countless dental health advantages. So while you may struggle to justify cosmetic dentistry to improve your smile, consider this: a straight smile is a healthier smile.
Not convinced? Check out the smile facts below!
- Straight teeth are linked to overall health. A major health issue in the US today is inflammation, often found in the gums of patients with gum disease or gingivitis, where bacteria has become trapped and left to decay. If left untreated, this inflammatory response has been linked to systemic health risks such as poor cardiovascular health, diabetes, and stroke.
- Thankfully, straightened teeth are easier to keep clean. Do you have crooked teeth, or often find yourself checking the mirror for unsightly food caught in your teeth? Throughout the day, plaque builds up on your teeth, and brushing alone is not quite enough to get rid of all of the tiny food particles that get left behind. Straightening the teeth helps to eliminate space between the teeth where debris is often caught and left to decay.
- Straight teeth have fewer cavities. This is related to brushing and flossing again! Crooked teeth, overbites, and a crowded smile can be difficult to clean because brushing and flossing are only treating certain surface areas and not the entire tooth and in between it. If it’s a challenge to work around your teeth, you will likely lose your motivation to remain dedicated to flossing on a daily basis.
- Straight teeth reduce misaligned bites. Excessive wear and tear of your teeth because they are grinding against each other in an unnatural way can introduce multiple issues, from TMJ to sinus problems.
- Straight teeth reduce your risk of dental trauma or injury. If your teeth protrude in any way, they are targets for undesirable contact. Sports games, accidents, falls, and accidental head butting can break or fracture protruding teeth at far higher rate than if you had straight ones all contained in your mouth.
- Straight teeth look good. And when you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you do good! Life is overall better when you are feeling confident about your appearance. Others notice it, too, and your opportunities for abundance increase because you are attracting them!
- Straight teeth do not experience as much wear and tear. Some wear and tear is natural over the course of our lifetimes, but the need for dental work is dramatically less for teeth who in their right place, minding their own business. Crooked teeth can push into adjacent teeth, displacing them and causing complicated issues down the road that could be quite costly.
Options for Straightening Your Teeth
Boy, are you lucky! Today’s advancements in modern dentistry have introduced a wide variety of options in cosmetic dentistry to straighten your teeth so you can embrace a healthy, vibrant smile!
Invisalign
Discreet and durable, Invisalign can straighten your teeth in an average of just a few months to over a year on average, as opposed to the typical 1-3 years of metal braces. Unlike uncomfortable or abrasive metal brackets, Invisalign is clear, smooth, and satisfying to those who can’t wait to smile confidently in public.
Porcelain Veneers
Are you considering veneers? Thin, strong, natural-looking by design, these versatile porcelain shells are placed just over the front surface of the teeth to close unwanted gaps between teeth and improve the shape, balance, and color of your smile.
Bonding And Recontouring
Dental bonding can be used to improve a misshapen smile, fill gaps between the teeth, and correct chipped teeth. A minimally invasive method, recontouring generally doesn’t require an anesthetic. Together, bonding and recontouring can improve the appearance of your smile and reduce risks for further dental issues.
Do You Desire A Straighter Smile?
At Associated Dentists, we love to create beautiful smiles with a gentle touch. Call us today to schedule a consultation! We have two convenient locations to serve the Central Madison area as well as the Verona area, including West and SW Madison, Verona, Mt Horeb, Belleville, Middleton, Cross Plains, and beyond. To reach our Madison dental office please give our office a call at (608) 238-7112. You may also reach our Verona office at (608) 848-4000. We can’t wait to make you smile!
