Living with crooked, overcrowded, chipped, or broken teeth can be uncomfortable and embarrassing. Maybe you’re looking into restoring your smile with cosmetic dental procedures? Maybe you’re uncertain because you think that “there’s no reason to fix my teeth except to look better”? However, there are good reasons to fix your teeth beyond merely cosmetic ones.
Some issues that seem “just cosmetic” can actually affect your oral health and even your overall health. Dr. Keith Levesque and Dr. Tara Vogel are experienced dentists in Nashua, NH, who can help restore and preserve your smile. Learn more about the important reasons to fix dental problems from Dr. Levesque and Dr. Vogel and their team below.
Reduce Your Risk of Gum Disease
Overcrowded or crooked teeth can cause you pain and risk your health. Teeth shift in your mouth and may become overcrowded when there’s no room for them to go. When teeth move too close together, they can crack or fracture. This crowding can be painful and, if left untreated, eventually cause infection.
Crooked, chipped, or broken teeth are also more difficult to clean. If teeth are not cleaned properly, plaque forms between them and along the gum line and begins to eat away at tooth enamel. Also, your gums can become infected and inflamed, swelling and drawing away from your teeth and causing your teeth to be less stable.
Connections have been made between gum disease and an increase in systemic health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
Ensure Your Teeth Wear Evenly
When teeth are not aligned properly, simply chewing can cause them to wear unevenly and lead to premature tooth decay and pain. An uneven bite can be the result of an overbite, underbite, jaw injury, crooked or missing teeth, or even an uneven crown or molding fit. This is a very common reason for excessive wear of teeth.
Excessive wear can easily lead to other more serious dental health concerns because it can expose your dentin, the sensitive and vulnerable layer under your enamel. Once dentin has been uncovered, it erodes more quickly than regular enamel.
If this issue is not treated, a person’s teeth can be worn down to their stumps. When that occurs, only extensive cosmetic procedures such as bridges, crowns, root canals, implants, or even dentures can repair the issue.
Improve Your Overall Health
As stated above, gum disease has been linked to systemic health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, and even Alzheimer’s Disease. An uneven bite, fractured or overcrowded teeth, or even missing teeth can easily lead to gum disease merely because they are more difficult to clean properly.
So correcting what seems like a cosmetic problem with invisible braces, dental veneers or bonding can actually keep your body healthy and prevent the need for more extensive procedures.
How to Improve Your Smile
Dr. Levesque and Dr. Vogel are experienced dentists who offer many different types of effective treatments to fit your needs. Call (603) 547-9203 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with our office today to keep your smile healthy and your confidence high!