Side-Effects of Crooked Teeth

A misaligned smile isn’t just an aesthetic concern. While most of us think having straight teeth means wearing the perfect accessory, it goes much deeper than just looking your best when you’re smiling for a photo. There are functional and health side-effects that we often see in our Wyndham patients with crooked teeth.

Fractured Dental Work

Your restorative crowns and fillings are durable enough to withstand everyday wear. But irregular biting patterns put heavier amounts of pressure on specific points in your mouth. When that happens, your dental work can fracture when you least expect it.

TMJ Disorder and Headaches 

When your teeth don’t align properly, they don’t function correctly when it’s time to eat and chew your food. Instead, your TMJ (jaw joint) has to compromise its regular biting patterns into extended positions that allow your teeth to close together. Over time, all of those irregular movements can lead to deterioration or damage to the tissues inside of the joint (resulting in pain or joint disorder.)

 Irregular Tooth Wear 

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the entire human body. But when enamel wears against itself irregularly, it will actually grind itself down. Teeth will age prematurely, appearing flattened with sharp edges, simply because they don’t bite together properly.

 Gum Disease

Crowded and misaligned teeth tend to harbor more plaque biofilm than those that are straight. They’re often harder to clean effectively and have more buildup around them even if you brush and floss regularly. As a result, they have a higher rate of gum disease (and tooth decay, too.)

How Wyndham Dental Can Help

At Wyndham Dental we offer in-house orthodontic therapy to help align your teeth for an optimal biting relationship. If you’re considering Invisalign or braces, ask how our experienced dental team can help! Request a consultation today.