Smile with Confidence: A Comprehensive Guide to Dental Health and Care

Braces

Common Dental Questions, dental care questions and answers, dental health tips, cosmetic and restorative dentistry, dental technology, ask a dentist about braces

Alternatives to Braces

Braces can be the bane of one’s existence – not only for the teens who wear them, but the parents as well.  For kids, braces come during those awkward teenage years – a time fraught with angst over acne or other physical changes, and slapping on something that makes the teeth look the grille of a 1955 Rambler, sure doesn’t help matters much.  For parents, it is a pain as well … if their workplace sponsors a dental plan, orthodontia regimens may be included, partially or in total, but, if not – the price of braces can take a big bite out of the household budget, not to mention taking time off from work to transport kids to the orthodontist for regular appointments.

Be Proactive

You are probably not the first parent to wonder about alternatives to moving teeth into proper alignment.

Types of Braces

The trend today is toward embracing good dental health through natural choices – shunning fast or fried foods in favor of those with nutritious value, forsaking the couch and big TV for a walking or biking regimen.  This is because Americans are living longer, and they want to enjoy those extra years in good health.

Good dental health and keeping your own teeth longer is fast becoming an objective as well.  We now realize that with a little TLC to our teeth, they might last us the rest of our days, and we’ll not need to resort to dentures or partial plates.

Health Benefits of Braces

Braces aren’t just for kids anymore.  More and more adults are getting braces to avoid long-term dental problems that result because of misalignment of teeth or the jaw.  While the primary reason for having braces put on your teeth is for aesthetic reasons, such as straightening the teeth, spacing out crowded teeth and closing gaps in your smile, they can also be utilized for better jaw alignment, especially if you would be destined to suffer the consequences of TMJ, or with tempomandibular joint issues.  If you suffer from TMJ, you know that opening and closing your mouth, or even masticating, (a more technical word for chewing), can cause pain.  Braces can help to correct the jaw defects which cause TMJ, so that means no more headaches, earaches and that annoying, as well as painful, clicking.

Realignment of the jaw will ensure that biting or chewing issues will be eliminated as well as life-long conundrums like tooth decay and gum disease.  If your teeth were crooked or crowded before undergoing the orthodontic process, and then later in life you needed to have dentures, then those plate(s) would be ill-fitting, without the benefit of braces and correction of overbites and underbite issues.

Health Benefits of Braces

Braces have long been used by dental professionals to create beautiful smiles. We know braces are used to help straighten the teeth but there are many other benefits from wearing braces, they are more than aesthetic. Before you get fitted for braces, talk to your dentist about the many other health benefits that are associated with braces. Braces definitely play a major role in enhancing your smile, but they can also be very beneficial in helping achieve wellness and affect your overall health. Here are a few ways braces can offer you a healthier life.