How Proper Teeth Alignment Affects our Overall Health

As the saying goes, the mouth is the gateway to the whole body. This means that your nutrition typically starts and ends in and from the mouth. Teeth and other oral problems can greatly affect the overall absorption of nutrients from food, so treating them at once, though sometimes overlooked, should be prioritized. The connection between our oral health and our general well-being is so strong that dentists are constantly fighting to encourage us and the authorities to regard dental treatments as medical situations as well, so as to garner more benefits and coverage from health insurance. Anyone can have perfect teeth with braces if leading insurance companies offer higher dental benefits to their members. So we have to dissect the issue, how can proper teeth alignment affect our overall health? Let’s understand how misaligned bite can have an effect on our overall well-being.

Misaligned Bites and Crooked Teeth

Some are born with a good set of teeth, but unfortunately, more people have one or more problems with either or both their bite and teeth alignment. The front teeth may be overlapping, too protruded, or crooked. The upper and lower jaws may not be of the same angle or positioning, making it difficult for a patient to bite or close his mouth. There are more problems with teeth location, arrangement, and growth, all of which can lead to damage and poor maintenance.

What causes Teeth Crookedness?

Ideally, our teeth are aligned properly even before they erupt from our gums. The problem is, some factors affect the way they grow and position as they become permanent.

Baby Habits

Where else to best start in figuring out the problem but from the beginning. Dentists discourage thumb sucking and the use of pacifiers primarily because the sucking motions allow the front teeth and the rest of our pearly whites to protrude and become crooked. There are babies who have wide-spaced baby teeth, and though this may look less attractive compared to babies whose teeth are evenly spaced, some dentists would prefer having these spaces since these would signal that permanent teeth have enough space for them as they replace these temporary ones. So, even if dentists do not necessarily link crooked baby teeth to adult malocclusion, it may be possible for your permanent pearlies to follow this alignment.

Jaw Situation

The way we eat influences how our jaws develop. The softer our food becomes, the smaller our jaws build up, making it difficult for our teeth to have sufficient area to grow. Shorter jaws would now mean misaligned, crooked, and tightly spaced teeth.

Your crooked teeth may also be caused by misaligned jaws. Yes, you may have average-sized jaws, but if they are not appropriately aligned, the grooves of your lower and upper teeth may clash, making them move and find their proper places abnormally. This movement would cause your teeth to become twisted or protruded, signaling malocclusion.

Poor Nutrition and Dental Care

Yes, having proper teeth alignment may not come naturally. But if you are not taking good care of your dental health, then you are not helping yourself to have one.

Genetics

Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try to prevent dental problems, teeth crookedness can be caused by genetics. You can hereditarily get your jaw malformation from your parents or ancestors. So if your parents or relatives have underbites or overbites, the chances of you having the same dental problem are high.

Importance of Proper Teeth Alignment

You may still be wondering about how important is having straight teeth to our overall health. The reason for your confusion is maybe because you only regard having straight white teeth as essential for our aesthetic appearance, making our teeth extra friendly and pretty. But underneath that superficial benefit lies more serious reasons why everyone should prioritize their dental health.

Lowers risk of heart diseases. If you have been enduring a persistent gum disease for a long time, the chances of you developing cardiovascular problems from the bacteria that caused your mouth problem are great. Worse, if you already have a heart problem and developed gum disease, your condition may be aggravated and complicate the former.

Improves your health during pregnancy. There are women who encounter problems while being pregnant and having oral abnormalities like bleeding gums and weakened teeth are not rare. If you have good oral health, these problems may be prevented, and further complications that may affect the baby in your womb may be halted.

Improves absorption of nutrients. Proper teeth alignment makes it easier for you to digest the food that you eat mechanically. For as long as you are consuming vitamin and fiber-rich foods, their absorption, and benefits to the body are already guaranteed.

Prevents mouth or oral cancer. Good teeth and mouth cleaning includes having good dental habits, like regular brushing, flossing, avoidance of smoking, and regular trips to the dentist. If you continue doing these, you are lessening your chances of developing serious conditions like cancer. Doing these things can be made easy if your teeth are properly spaced and aligned.

Avoids other common or serious health conditions. Aside from bacterial infections caused by gum problems, these are just some of the body disorders that can be prevented if we have good oral health and teeth alignment.

• Dementia
• Respiratory problems
• Diabetes
• Infertility
• Rheumatoid arthritis

If you want to know how bad teeth and oral health can cause these problems, it is best to consult your dentist for guidance and proper information.

Find Ways to have Proper Teeth Alignment

If you have malocclusion or planning to straighten your teeth, there are several orthodontic treatments to do so. You can choose if you want to have braces or clear aligners.

Orthodontic treatments enhance your jaw and teeth functions, making you feel comfortable as you use them. Remember that your permanent teeth cannot be re-grown, so if you lose a tooth, the only way to replace it is to have artificial restorations. Keeping them clean and healthy can be made easier if you have straight teeth. Maintenance and upkeep of your pearly whites can also be made easier if you undergo orthodontic treatments.

Dental braces are the gold standard in orthodontics. Your dentist may use metal, ceramic, and other innovative materials to facilitate moving the teeth to their correct positions. Modern orthodontics allows these dental braces to be as discreet as possible, so you wouldn’t need to worry about how you look, as they can cause minimal changes to your smile and speech.

Dental aligners, like Invisalign, can also be a great option for you to have proper teeth alignment. These typically are teeth trays made of medical-grade plastic that are customized to snugly fit your teeth. The goal is to systematically move the teeth while the trays are worn over the teeth, forcing your teeth to follow the mold of the aligners step by step. People who prefer using these mouth trays benefit from avoiding nicks and cuts from metal braces and the brackets that hold them. With dental aligners, you can expect your orthodontic treatment to feel smooth and tight as it hugs the face and back of your teeth.

Choosing between the two may be affected by several factors, like your budget, preference, age, and self-image. However, you can be sure that no matter which orthodontic treatment you would choose to utilize, what’s important is your willingness to correct your crooked teeth and have proper teeth alignment as soon as possible.