Having crooked teeth is both a cosmetic issue and quite possibly a medical or dental issue. First, crooked teeth affect a person’s self esteem. It can feel like everyone in the world is focusing in on your teeth instead of focusing on you as a person. That may not be the case, and others may not notice it the way the patient does, but nonetheless, it may feel to the patient that they’re wearing a big neon sign that points to the flaws in their teeth. When you’re embarrassed about your teeth, you don’t smile. Unfortunately, that can lead people to think, however mistakenly, that you’re angry or unfriendly.
The other issue with having crooked teeth that are not aligned properly is more of a medical one. We’ve all heard kids lisp when they lose their two front teeth. The same can happen with very crooked teeth, but it isn’t a temporary change as with losing a couple of baby teeth. The child may be unable to pronounce some sounds correctly, and since this is a long-term problem, it affects their speech until the problem is corrected with Braces in Bel Air area. The baby teeth need to be aligned correctly so that when they each come out, the permanent teeth will follow right below or from above them and will erupt in the right place.
There are severa kinds of Braces, and one kind is not necessarily the ideal kind for all patients. The first kind is traditional wire braces. These are affixed to the back molars with brackets that go all the way around the molars and are held in place with a special, very strong dental adhesive. The brackets have anchors on them for the wire that will run along around the teeth. Each tooth then has a little anchor bracket attached to it to run the wire through.
The other kind of braces are clear, such as the brand made by Invisalign. Actually, they’re more than just clear. They are actually removable, too. However, in order to get the benefit, patients really should wear them 24 hours a day. They can be removed for eating, brushing, and flossing, which not only protects the appliance, but makes it much easier to maintain oral hygiene without the appliance in the way.
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