What can braces do for your health?

We have brilliant news: braces such as Invisalign are capable of far more than just straightening your teeth! While our braces are great for, obviously, straightening your teeth, they actually come with a world of health benefit. Not only can we straighten your cosmetic smile, but your teeth could look, feel, and function at their best too.

Braces can help protect against tooth decay

It is extremely common in the UK. With the right preventative measures and regular cleaning, we can prevent tooth decay from developing. As well as regular appointments with your hygienist, you may want to consider braces. Straightening your teeth with braces prevents our teeth from overlapping, lessening the nooks where food and bacteria build up. These hidden surfaces can be difficult to clean, resulting in the bacteria eroding our protective enamel and damaging our teeth. By increasing the surface area of your teeth, you make them far easier to clean, decreasing your chances of developing tooth decay.

Braces can help protect against gum disease

Most of the British public are experiencing gum disease in some form, whether it be severe or just the beginnings. It’s incredibly common, and very easy for it to develop if left untreated. Braces help lessen your chances of developing gum disease by closing any gaps in your teeth. These gaps can expose your gums and leave them open to food and bacteria. With no gaps leaving your gums unprotected, there’s less of a chance for bacteria to work their dastardly ways. You could actually be saving your teeth and gums while you straighten your smile with braces.

Braces can help prevent bad breath

Bad breath is often an indicator of underlying and more sinister dental health problems. The food that gets trapped in the nooks and overlaps of our teeth attracts bacteria, which produce toxins when they feed on it. These toxins work on the surface of our teeth to erode our protective enamel, but they also smell foul too. It’s these toxins that are present in our bad breath but straightening your teeth could help. By lessening these pockets that trap food, you’re lessening the presence of the harmful bacteria that cause bad breath.

Braces can realign your bite

A misaligned jaw can manifest itself in many different side effects. You could be experiencing headaches, jaw ache, and tightness in your shoulders and back from the residual tension of your bite. We build a lot of pressure in our jaw from biting and chewing, and involuntary clenching can also add to this. A misaligned bite can put a lot more unneeded stress on the jaw that can have a knock-on effect to its function. By straightening your teeth, you can help to restructure the way your bite fights together, potentially helping your jaw function.

Your confidence

While technically not health-related, your confidence can benefit hugely from braces. Misaligned teeth can affect the way you speak, the balance of your face, and the confidence in your smile. If you don’t feel confident enough in your teeth to grin or are shying away from expressing yourself in social situations, then braces can help.

Braces always have been and always will be the best way to straighten your teeth, this much is true. But there are so many health benefits that come hand-in-hand with a straighter smile. If you’re considering straightening your teeth and want to learn how to keep your teeth healthy, why not book an appointment with us? We’re proud to offer the latest in discrete teeth straightening technology, so contact Down House Dental Practice in Sussex today!