Your smile holds a lot of power. Your smile has the ability to make others smile. Your smile is your signature and a sign of confidence, happiness, and positivity. A straight-toothed and sincere smile is more than just aesthetically significant, though. Straightening your teeth is actually imperative to maintaining optimal oral health. In the long run, there is quite a long list of consequences for choosing not to straighten your teeth or close a sizeable gap.

For starters, having crooked teeth can actually cause you discomfort, especially when eating. Misaligned teeth and a misaligned bite cause unnecessary and unbalanced exertion, which wears down your teeth at a far faster pace than if your teeth and bite were properly aligned. Also, this uneven pressure from misaligned chewing can result in a break or fracture, which, if severe enough, may require a crown.

When teeth are crooked and overlapping, it is more difficult to properly clean them. Your risk of gum disease and gingivitis is much higher when your teeth are not straight. When your teeth are straight, your gums are tighter, and plaque buildup in the soft tissue is less likely. Plaque is an acidic bacterium that can penetrate your gum line. Swollen and bleeding gums are the initial signs of gum disease. In severe cases, when left untreated, teeth will begin to fall out.

Having a gap between your teeth also puts you at risk of losing teeth. Where there is a gap, your teeth are more likely to be capable of moving. This movement occurs when a tooth or teeth loosen from the surrounding gum tissue. Loose teeth are at a high risk of falling out. No one wants to lose his or her teeth!

However, it is easy to avoid these issues. There are multiple straightening and gap-closing options, depending on the specific case. Invisalign is often an excellent choice and a treatment that we provide. The added benefit of straightening your teeth is that your smile will reflect your inner beauty, and you'll be more likely to want to share that beauty and happiness with the world. It is something to think about.