12 / 02 / 2024
The Benefits of Straightening Your Smile Beyond Aesthetics
When we talk about having your teeth straightened, the initial image that comes to mind is of teenagers fitted with train track braces. However, straightening your teeth is not the sole domain of the younger generation. Many people go through adult life not having been able to access orthodontic treatment as children due to NHS dentist cuts. Pregnancy can also affect women’s smiles, as the growing baby sucks up mum’s calcium, which can weaken their teeth and cause them to shift position.
As a result, there are thousands of adults who have been too embarrassed to smile over the years due to crooked teeth stripping them of their confidence and self-esteem. While the cost and accessibility of finding out how to get straight teeth may have seemed impossible a few years ago, these days, advances in aligner technology and manageable payment plans open up the opportunity to pursue dental cosmetic treatment to a much wider demographic.
The Benefits of a Straight Smile
If you are considering investing in aligners, what are the benefits that you could expect?
Probably the biggest improvement you will experience is an overall boost to your confidence. Unfortunately, having crooked teeth prevents so many people from smiling with energy and joy. The sheer act of smiling can improve well-being, so not smiling definitely works against you.
Being proud of your new straight white teeth is going to encourage you to start smiling once again. Not only are you going to feel better about yourself, but your happiness will also start to communicate itself to those around you.
But as well as the improvements to your emotional well-being, there are also numerous improvements to your physical well-being, above and beyond the fact that straighter teeth improve your oral health.
For example, due to the fact that straighter teeth give you better jaw alignment, your overall bite improves, which in turn ensures that you chew your food more efficiently. This means that you naturally end up breaking solid food down into smaller morsels, which can then be better swallowed and digested. As a result, your digestion improves.
Straighter teeth are also easier to keep clean. When your teeth are crooked, food particles can get trapped in hard-to-reach crevices. Over time, this can lead to periodontitis, or gum disease, putting you at risk of bacteria infecting your bloodstream and damaging your heart valves. There are many studies linking periodontitis to cardiovascular disease, which is a killer in many developed countries. Having your teeth straightened is not just for the smiles – it could save your life!
Make Yourself Understood
The state of your teeth and the clarity of your speech are intrinsically linked. Over the years, crooked teeth can cause speech impediments such as lisps or whistles or the inability to pronounce certain sounds properly.
What happens is that the crooked teeth affect tongue placement in the mouth. In particular, your teeth are responsible for pronouncing the letters ‘f’, ‘s’, ‘z’ and ‘g’. They also affect the sounds ‘sh’ and ‘ch’.
Improving your smile as a result of teeth alignment will consequently change the way you talk. If you have been living with crooked teeth for many years, it may feel strange for a while. There may be a degree of readjustment as you get used to the new you. However, using aligners is a gradual process, and you will find that you naturally explore and change the way you form sounds as you become more accustomed to the new positioning of your overall jaw alignment.
How a Straight Smile Causes Physical Changes to Your Face
Your facial features and muscle structure have, over the years, shaped themselves to accommodate the position of your teeth. Now, here’s some good news – many people who have had their teeth straightened have reported back, saying it is almost like having a mini, non-invasive facelift. Correcting the position of the teeth can lift the mouth upwards, lower the prevalence of receding gums and widen your smile. As a result, your face can look tauter and firmer, and maybe even younger!
How to Get Straight Teeth
There are a number of different aligner systems – you are advised to research some of the cheaper mail-order options as these have been linked to potentially damaging results with companies going bust and leaving customers with half-finished treatments. You are better off Googling ‘teeth straightening near me’ and choosing an established provider of aligners that can work with you one-on-one throughout the entire process.
Here at Sutton Dental & Implant Clinic, we want to reassure our customers that we work closely with individuals to ensure that they can invest in having their teeth straightened with confidence and reassurance.
To find out more about our Clear Aligners and what is involved in having your teeth straightened, drop us a line, and we’ll schedule a time to chat it through with you.
