What oral problems can be solved by braces?

Crooked teeth have been the root cause of several problems like – chewing and digestion problems, speech difficulties, periodontal diseases, etc. Alongside these, even your self-esteem lowers due to misaligned teeth.

Orthodontic treatments have been used to fix misaligned teeth and give you a perfect smile you deserve. Among them, braces are the most widely used treatment. There are several types of braces available – metal, ceramic, lingual, and Invisalign braces, and all of them do their jobs perfectly.

12 Oral Problems That You Can Solve Through Braces

Braces are commonly known to improve your misaligned teeth and other related oral problems. Here are some common issues that you can solve with the help of braces.

1. Misaligned Jaw

When your lower and upper teeth do not meet comfortably, it is a case of a misaligned jaw. If your teeth are crooked or overcrowded, you may experience extreme pain and discomfort in your jaw, and this misalignment can cause severe issues with your temporal mandibular joint (TMJ).

Braces can solve this issue by straightening your misaligned teeth and correcting the position of your jaw, improving your facial structure.

2. Overcrowded Teeth

Overcrowded teeth are a common occurrence. It happens when there are too many teeth for your dental ridge to accommodate. This causes trouble in brushing and flossing, making food particles and bacteria build up in your teeth’ nooks and gum line.

Overcrowded teeth are solved by removing one or more teeth and then applying braces to move the remaining teeth to their proper places.

3. Extra Spacing

Excess spacing between teeth is referred to as diastema and is a prevalent issue. It is most commonly seen in children and can carry in their adulthood.

Spacing is caused when your teeth don’t grow properly and sometimes even due to incorrect swallowing reflexes.

Braces will help in resolving this problem by shifting your teeth gradually and aligning them.

4. Crooked teeth

Crooked teeth result from overcrowded teeth. They also expose your gums to more infections.

There are several options to treat crooked teeth, but the best and the most effective one recommended by orthodontists is braces, provided that your gums and teeth are strong enough to hold them together.

Most orthodontists recommend braces for children because they still have malleable gums and flexible bone tissues. It almost takes two to three years to treat crooked teeth, depending on the different braces you choose.

5. Overbite & Underbite

These are malocclusion problems that you can easily correct with the help of braces because they apply gentle pressure on your teeth and jaw.

Overbite – Overbite happens when your upper teeth sit far forward from your lower teeth. With the help of braces, you can easily shift your upper teeth backward near your lower teeth.
Underbite – If your upper or lower teeth are far too back, you are likely facing an underbite issue, which can cause the problem of an unbalanced facial appearance. Braces will move either lower or upper teeth or both to correct this situation.

6. Crossbite & Open Bite

A crossbite is when your upper teeth do not come down over your lower teeth when biting. This can lead to tooth fractures, receding gums, and an asymmetrical jaw.

Open bite happens when both your lower and upper teeth slant outwards and hence do not touch each other while biting. This causes biting difficulties, lisp, and other speech problems.

Braces are an excellent solution to these problems. It helps in correctly aligning your teeth and overcoming biting issues.

7. Excess Overjet

This malocclusion occurs when the maxillary central incisors and the mandibular central incisors horizontally overlap with each other.

Orthodontists recommend treating this problem with metal or ceramic braces. Through braces, the distance between the top and bottom teeth treating the excess overjet.

8. TMD

TMD, which is also known as temporomandibular disorder, affects the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The TMJ is a joint that connects your jaw to your skull. The misalignment between the upper and the lower teeth, where the teeth meet, can cause pressure on the TMJ.

Braces provide the correct solution by aligning your upper and lower teeth to prevent pressure on your TMJ.

9. Periodontal Disease

Severely misaligned teeth can cause problems in brushing. Because of the overlapping teeth, some people can’t even floss properly. This causes gum infections that result in gingivitis and other gum diseases.

Braces will help your misaligned teeth straighten and help in improving your oral hygiene. Brushing and flossing teeth will be possible when they are well aligned and straight.

10. Issues With Speaking & Chewing

Misaligned teeth come in between coherent speech and proper chewing.

Through better jaw alignment, it will be possible to correct mild speech hindrance. Braces help align the jaw properly so that your upper and lower teeth come into contact evenly, improving your bite and pronunciation.

11. Self-esteem

Overlapped, crowded, crooked, and misaligned teeth contribute majorly to lowering your self-esteem. Braces can bring your confidence back and give you a perfect smile you desire for.

When it comes to appearance, Invisalign braces wins big time over traditional braces as they are hard to spot. Invisalign are made from transparent plastic material which are virtually invisible. Imagine getting braces and no one knows about it!

Correcting the crooked teeth minorly changes the shape of your jaw, in a good way which in turn boosts your self-confidence.

12. Excess Wear & Tear

Your teeth, gums, and jaw muscles are prone to excess wear and tear through crooked teeth. This results in cracked teeth, jaw strain, TMJ disorder, and chronic headaches.

Braces will straighten your misaligned teeth and avoid this excessive wear and tear.

Author Bio: Dr. Satish Pai

Dr. Satish Pai is an orthodontist and Ivy League trained dentist who has served as a faculty at Columbia University. He believes a perfect smile not only makes a person look great but feel great. As the founder of Putnam Orthodontics and a Partner at Brite Orthodontics, he is dedicated to providing the best orthodontic treatments to his patients. He also writes to educate people about everything orthodontics and the importance of correctly aligned teeth along with good oral health. In his free time, you can find him golfing, doing yoga or surfing, and spending time with this family.

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