Treating crooked teeth might not come as your priority if it is merely a cosmetic and aesthetic issue for you. But there can be crooked tooth problems that lead to gum diseases, teeth damage, bite issues, and other illnesses. We are not trying to scare you here. We want to explain that treating crooked teeth can save you from multiple other health issues.
Let us introduce you to 9 possible hazards of ignoring crooked teeth:-
1. Lack of Oral Hygiene
It is challenging to clean your teeth properly if they are crooked. The toothbrush bristles can’t reach in between the gaps created by crooked teeth. The same is the case for dental floss. The food particles and plaque accumulated in the absence of proper cleaning will lead to bacteria and cavities.
2. Gum Disease
Crooked teeth problems start with cleaning issues, which leads to various diseases. The bacteria and cavities in your mouth can cause infection in your gums. Periodontitis & Gingivitis are some of the gum diseases caused due to poor dental hygiene.
3. Crowded Teeth& Enamel Damage
Crooked teeth often cause teeth to grind with each other and protrude. This happens because of the spacing issue. This overlapping of teeth leads to more chipped and crowded teeth. Crowded teeth pain can hamper your concentration on your studies or work.
One more risk associated with crooked teeth is the wear and tear of enamel. Damaged enamel can lead to painful infections like tooth abscesses. It can also make your teeth appear yellow and unattractive.
4. More Prone to Injuries
As we explained earlier, crooked teeth lead other teeth to protrude and get crowded. These types of teeth can get easily injured if impacted during sports and outdoor activities. Therefore athletes and people interested in sports need to get their crooked teeth treated.
5. Improper Chewing
It is not easy to chew with crooked teeth. If your crooked teeth will lead to more crowded and protruded teeth, chewing will become more complicated. The teeth grinding with each other can make this simple task painful for you. Not chewing food properly may further lead to digestion issues.
6. Foul Mouth Odour
Many people doubt that can crooked teeth cause bad breath? Yes, it does! If you don’t chew food, properly it gets stuck in the empty spaces created by crooked teeth. And unfortunately, you can’t maintain proper dental hygiene due to your crooked teeth. All this leads to a foul smell coming out of your mouth.
7. Decreased Self-confidence
It isn’t easy to face the world when you are not confident about your appearance. You won’t smile or talk freely if you are always thinking of your crooked teeth showing up. Getting them fixed can liberate you from that constant feeling of self-doubt.
8. TMJ Disorder & Bruxism
The grinding and collision of teeth affect the jaw and related parts adversely. The TMJ is the hinge that connects the jawbone to the skull. If the wear and tear reach the TMJ, you might witness the TMJ disorder. It is a condition that causes pain in the head, jaw bone, neck, shoulders, and other facial parts. Untreated, crooked teeth can lead to bruxism as well.
9. Other Health Issues
Crooked teeth problems are not limited to gum diseases or crowded teeth pain. It affects your overall health. The degeneration of tissues of gums can reach your internal organs. These damaged tissues can lead to fatal medical complications like heart attack, stroke, pneumonia, and diabetes.
Concluding
We hope that now you know that it is worth spending money and time on treating crooked teeth.
Author Bio
Dr. Satish Pai is a New York-based dentist and has served as faculty at Columbia University. He believes that a perfect smile not only makes a person look great but feels great while boosting confidence. As the founder of Putnam Orthodontics, he is dedicated to not only creating perfect smiles for his patients but also educating people with his engaging articles about all things related to a perfect smile and oral health.
