Our smile is one of the factors that play a crucial role in boosting our confidence and self-esteem. Studies have shown that people who are unhappy with their current smile or the appearance of their teeth significantly suffer in various areas of life. These range from conducting business, dating, and mental health issues induced by lack of confidence and self-doubt.

The reason behind your crooked smile could be the presence of wisdom teeth or an inadequately sized jaw. In many cases, when adult teeth have grown while the baby teeth are still present causes misalignment of teeth. Genetics is another factor that one has no control over and can lead to crooked teeth. 

If you catch yourself hiding your teeth while smiling due to teeth alignment issues, you should consider consulting a dentist and get your teeth evaluated for braces. Braces are used to align teeth and serve as a cosmetic beauty enhancing tool that eases maintaining proper oral health.

Cleaning crooked and misaligned teeth can be challenging, and improper oral care can lead to more cavities, plaque build-up, and an overall unhygienic appearance. Straight and aligned teeth are easy to clean with the added boost in appearance.

Embarrassment and self-doubt caused by crooked teeth can be fixed by dental assistance in the form of aligners and braces that can be opted for at any age. Irregular loss of baby teeth and delayed arrival of adult teeth can cause teeth to pop up at different angles causing gaps or overlaps. 

People with smaller jaws and teeth that are disproportionate to their face may make their teeth appear misaligned. Crowded, misplaced, or blocked-out teeth may change your smile’s appearance. Crooked teeth can lead to repeated biting of the insides of your cheek or poking your lips. A disproportionate jaw can result in difficulty chewing food and forcing one to breathe through your mouth regularly.

• Overbite

If you notice your bottom teeth are engaged in a constant battle with your top teeth, it may be time for you to get your current teeth alignment evaluated. An overbite is a condition when your upper front teeth excessively overlap your lower front teeth. It might go unnoticed but can lead to various health and oral complications.

The pressure exerted on your front teeth increases the risk of trauma, leading to a fracture in case of an injury. Overbites can cause excessive wearing of tooth enamel and lead to gum recession.

While a slight overbite is common in people when upper teeth slightly overlap the lower row of teeth, a significant overlap in your upper and lower teeth can lead to premature wear and tear of teeth, lead to chewing issues, and may even impact your speech.

• Experiencing Jaw Pain

Dental issues are the primary cause of jaw pain. The majority of these issues cannot be observed by simply taking a look in the mirror that leaves us with two options: experience gut-wrenching pain or go for the dreaded visit to the dentist. 

A sudden appearance of a new wisdom tooth, sensitivity in your teeth, or interdental pressure caused due to misaligned or crooked teeth may be responsible for causing jaw pain. Braces offer an effective solution to relieving jaw pain caused by crowded or misaligned teeth.

• Difficulty Eating or Speaking

Misaligned teeth can cause jaw pain, muscle soreness, and numbness leading to problems chewing and hampering your biting abilities. As a result, you may end up biting your tongue and gums frequently. The current alignment of your teeth can throw off your bite that leads to damaging your tongue, gums, and cheek.

Speech and pronunciation are affected tremendously by the misplacement of teeth inside one’s mouth that can be relieved by using braces. 

• Crowding

The most common factor leading to jaw pain, gum issues, and dental problems are the crowding of teeth. This happens when your jaw is small restricting space for your teeth to grow. It increases the interdental pressure caused due to crowding.

Braces at a young age can prevent the misalignment of teeth by helping you during your transition from baby teeth to adult teeth. As crowding gets worse with time, opting for braces at the right time is pivotal in reducing future dental issues.

Crowding hampers your ability to brush your teeth and floss. This may lead to tooth decay, cavities, and accumulation of plaque. If you find yourself suffering from crowding as an adult, fret not because adult braces are available in the market to help you combat crowding efficiently.

• Gapping & Spacing

While space in between your teeth or gaps can be pulled off effortlessly by models and celebrities, it can be a daunting task to maintain the cleanliness of your teeth. Gapping and spacing are the opposite of teeth crowding and may lead to plaque accumulation. This may lead to gum issues due to food getting stuck within the tooth gaps. Tooth spacing or cracks can be caused if you are missing a tooth or in case you have a wide jaw.