Misaligned teeth and other malocclusions such as an improperly aligned bite you may want to undergo orthodontic treatment, be it traditional metal wire braces or clear aligners such as Invisalign or Clear Correct.
Braces improve the appearance of your smile and confidence, improve your oral health, and can help improve your speech. Do you know what signs to look out for to know if you need braces? In this blog from St. Clair Tooth Co., we’re going over the 5 biggest signs that may need braces.
Crooked teeth are the most visibly obvious sign that you could need braces. Crooked teeth are caused by overcrowding teeth. Essentially, there are too many teeth in the mouth for what little space is there.
This can cause teeth to be very close to other teeth or outright push against other teeth which can be painful. Some teeth may overlap each other, which can be visually unappealing as well as causing some oral health problems. Teeth overcrowding can lead to mouth breathing, lisps, discomfort when chewing, and misaligned teeth.
Gaps in baby teeth do generally not cause concern. This is because when they lose these teeth, their permanent teeth will be larger than the baby teeth and may end up filling out the space. However, in adult teeth, gaps are not going to fix themselves.
This can be a big source of insecurity when gaps are visible when smiling, especially if they are front and center of the mouth. Metal braces are the most effective treatment for closing severe gaps in the teeth.
While you may be okay with the appearance of your gaps, they can cause problems with your speech, trap food particles that lead to the formation of plaque, and cause problems with your bite.
If it is difficult or uncomfortable to chew food, this is a clear sign that something is misaligned with your bite or your teeth. Braces can fix the alignment of your teeth and make chewing a lot easier and more comfortable. If you have an under or overbite, this could be causing you to bite your tongue or your cheeks when you eat.
A misaligned jaw can cause a whole host of problems, such as difficulty with chewing, swallowing, and speaking. Having a misaligned jaw will cause you to have an under, over, cross, or overbite which can cause jaw pain, an increased risk of tooth decay and gum disease, headaches, and damage to the teeth.
If your child has suffered from premature tooth loss due to decay or injury, braces may be suggested as a way to hold the space for the permanent teeth to come in. Holding space for the permanent teeth to grow into is the biggest job of baby teeth and when they fall out early, the surrounding teeth can shift around and move into the space where a tooth has fallen out. This would cause issues with the permanent teeth, because there may not be adequate space for them to grow into.
While the instinct to suck on objects such as pacifiers or thumbs is very natural for babies and puts them at ease, this can cause harm to their oral health if the behavior continues for too long. Thumb-sucking should be outright discouraged because it is a hard habit to break since you cannot remove the stimulus that the child is sucking on like a pacifier and it is also very unhygienic.
You should try to wean your child off of pacifiers as soon as possible once they turn one year old. If your child continues to use pacifiers until around 4 or 5 years old, this can put them at risk for many oral health problems, known as pacifier teeth.
Pacifier teeth can cause changes to the roof of the mouth, misaligned teeth, buck teeth, tooth decay, and speech issues. These orthodontic problems can be addressed with braces.
Do you have misaligned or overcrowded teeth? Do you have an over or underbite that you’re desperate to have aligned? At St. Clair Tooth Co., we offer a variety of orthodontic treatments such as traditional braces, Invisalign, and Clear Correct to address our patients’ every need in St. Clair Shores.
To find out which orthodontic treatment would be best for you, contact us by calling (586) 404-4911 or schedule an appointment online with Dr. Carly Cassleman.
.png){kind=icon}
.png)