There’s no question that straight teeth make for an attractive smile, and that’s often why patients make the choice for treatment. However, AnnMarie Olson, DDS might recommend Invisalign® dental aligners for reasons other than appearance.
Your teeth work together as a system, and their alignment is crucial for health reasons, so that aesthetically pleasing smile you’ll have after Invisalign treatment will also be working more efficiently and promoting your overall wellness.
There are more reasons than ever to choose treatment from Austin’s Invisalign specialists. Here are a few reasons why straight teeth go beyond a pretty smile.
Straight teeth aren’t simply a cosmetic upgrade — not when your smile is your first impression. Crooked teeth can be a teasing point among children, and even adults might judge you subconsciously on your appearance. With the proliferation in video calls and social media, your first impression is often made from the neck up. Invisalign clear aligners can boost your esteem and help you or your child sidestep potential negativity about your smile.
Alignment issues mean that upper and lower teeth may not match the way they should when you’re eating. Surfaces can grind in different places, causing premature wear and enamel erosion.
Over time, your misaligned teeth start to wear down, which can lead to:
The target for the Invisalign system, as well as any orthodontic treatment, is to restore the efficiency of your upper and lower teeth working together.
The joint that allows your lower jaw to move, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), is also vulnerable to misalignments, when your teeth exert unbalanced pressure on the joint when you chew. Invisalign optimizes efficiency here too, taking the strain off your TMJ.
Brushing and flossing likely aren’t your favorite self-care tasks. When your teeth are misaligned, you may skip the twice daily routine when crooked teeth make flossing difficult. Tight spaces are hard to clean, creating places where bacteria and plaque like to hide. Increasingly, plaque and tartar take over and decay can set in. After Invisalign, brushing and flossing are a breeze.
You have a dentist for your teeth and a doctor for your body, right? If someone gets the impression that these are separate systems, they’ve got the wrong idea. When oral hygiene falls apart, so does the rest of your health, a key reason why your easy-to-clean post-Invisalign smile works in your favor. Once the infections associated with gum disease start, they can spread to other systems in your body. You may be at a higher risk for other conditions including:
Even issues like erectile dysfunction and premature delivery can trace back to gum disease. As Invisalign makes brushing and flossing easier and more effective, your entire body benefits.
Book a consultation with AnnMarie Olson DDS to learn more about Invisalign and how it can improve so many aspects of your life. Call or click to schedule your appointment today.
