Most of the time, when patients they think about dental alignment, they think about the aesthetic issues associated with dental crowding. Undoubtedly, these aesthetic issues are important. However, there are a number of, lesser known, oral health consequences of dental misalignment. Today our Toluca Lake dentists are giving you some more information about poorly aligned teeth can negatively affect oral health. Let’s get started!
If you suffer from crowded or crooked teeth, then you may have already realized that poor dental alignment can hamper your ability to clean your smile effectively at home. Patients find that it is more difficult to floss thoroughly when their teeth are crowded. You may also have trouble reaching the plaque in those hard-to-reach places with your toothbrush or mouthwash. In general, patients with properly aligned smiles are better able to maintain clean smiles.
Dental alignment affects more than just individual teeth. Your smile is part of a larger maxillofacial structure, which includes your skull, jaw, and neck; if your top and bottom teeth do not come together comfortably and evenly, you may find that the adverse effects spread beyond your smile. People with poor bite alignment are likely to suffer from headaches as well as neck and facial pain. Bite problems also put immense pressure on the temporomandibular joints—those joints that connect the lower jaw to the skull. Over time, the patient’s TMJs can become inflamed and damaged. TMJ-related damage leads to jaw stiffness and pain, as well as limited jaw mobility. The good news is that by improving your bite alignment, you can improve your long-term TMJ prognosis.
If you think that you’re dealing with unhealthy dental alignment, please reach out to our Toluca Lake dentists to get more information about related health issues as well as treatment options. Give our office a call, or use the Contact Us page on our site to submit an inquiry.