4 Side-Effects Your Crooked Teeth May Cause

A misaligned smile isn’t just an aesthetic concern. Without orthodontic treatment, crooked teeth often lead to many functional and health side-effects. Here are some of the most common side-effects you can expect if a misaligned smile is left untreated for a long period of time:

1. Damaged dental work

Your restorative dental work like crowns and fillings are designed to withstand everyday functioning. But they are not capable of withstanding the heavier pressure a misaligned smile places on specific points in your mouth in order to bite or chew. With this irregular placement of pressure and biting patterns, your dental work can fracture.

2. TMJ disorder

A misaligned bite often means that your TMJ’s (jaw joint) regular biting patterns are compromised. In order to chew and eat, extended positions and irregular movements are required simply to be able to close your teeth together. In the long term, this can wear down and damage the tissues in this joint, leading to TMJ disorder. Soreness, facial/neck pain and headaches are common symptoms of this joint disorder.

3. Excessive tooth wear

Did you know your enamel is the hardest substance in your body? Despite this, when enamel wears against itself excessively simply because of an irregular bite, it’s capable of grinding your teeth down. This will give your teeth a flattened appearance with sharp edges.

4. Gum disease

Crooked teeth are more crowded, making it harder to reach every surface when cleaning, so even if you do brush and floss regularly, there will be a higher buildup of plaque regardless. The end result is a far higher rate of tooth decay and gum disease.

At Purity Dental we offer a range of orthodontic treatments to fix a crooked bite. Wondering which treatment is right for you? Reach us today at (03) 9540 8900 to schedule your consultation!