Having a straight smile has far more benefits for patients than just that of a flashy smile, in fact undergoing orthodontics Weybridge treatment has time and time again proven to make a serious impact to lots of patients’ lives both practically and mentally.
What are orthodontics?
Orthodontics are anything to do with the structure of a person’s teeth.
Your dentist or orthodontist will assess your smile for any faults such as overlaps, gaps, crowding or bite issues. This most commonly happens during adolescence, though lots of people come to orthodontics later in life having missed out on the opportunity for correction as a child. If they believe your lifestyle and health will be improved through orthodontic work they will then set out an orthodontic plan for you. This can include one or multiple braces. Some people will be able to have this work through the NHS, but only using certain types of braces, usually traditional wired braces or others will opt for private care which opens up other avenues including Incognito and Invisalign.
Understanding the benefits of orthodontics
Orthodontics have long been a focus of aesthetics and the health benefits not much considered, but in fact there are some really important elements to your overall oral health that should be noted.
Number one – straighter smiles are easier to clean
Finding ways in which we can keep on top of our oral hygiene is really important as the biggest issue with teeth and gums is that people don’t clean them well enough. This leads to a building up of plaque and tartar which then goes on to cause issues with gum disease and decay. Teeth which are overlapping, crowded and out of alignment make for trickier teeth to clean. These little overlaps make little micro pockets which are really tough to get into and clean properly and make even flossing more tricky. In the same way that when your tupperware cupboard is extremely frustrating and tricky to access when all the lids are all over the place and pots aren’t correctly sorted, your teeth become tricky to get to when they aren’t correctly aligned. Orthodontic treatment addresses this.
Number two – straighter smiles make for happier guts
The brain and gut connection has been researched much in recent years and it’s become clearer and clearer that a happy gut equals a happier brain and vice versa. So, what does this have to do with our teeth? Well teeth are a really big player when it comes to the early stages in digestion and believe it or not when the right teeth don’t come together accurately when chewing, it can actually really impact how successfully we digest food. Saliva is key in the digestion process and chewing is the instigator of saliva, which contains the acid to break down foods. If food reaches our gut without being correctly broken down it can cause cramping, bloating and major discomfort and even problems with passing stools. For this reason having the correct alignment in your teeth is really very important.