If you’re living with crooked, chipped, overcrowded, or missing teeth, you might be considering cosmetic dentistry to restore your smile. Did you know that there are oral health reasons to fix teeth beyond just how your mouth looks? Some issues that appear merely cosmetic can actually affect your oral health and even your overall health. Dr. Pamela Cain is a cosmetic and restorative dentist in Knoxville TN who specializes in helping patients achieve healthy, beautiful smiles.
Why Fix Teeth: Reduce Your Risk of Gum Disease
Crooked or overcrowded teeth are often a sign of deeper problems beneath the gums. Teeth can shift in your mouth and may become overcrowded if there is no room for them to go. You might be familiar with this if you’ve had your wisdom teeth removed: teeth can shift in the mouth and cause pain or oral health problems.
Crooked, chipped, or broken teeth are more challenging to clean. If teeth are not cleaned properly, bacteria in the mouth form plaque and eventually tartar, which hardens and leads to tooth decay. Gums can also become infected and inflamed, pulling away from the teeth and making teeth unstable. Advanced gum disease is linked to systemic health problems like diabetes and heart disease.
Ensure Your Teeth Wear Evenly
Teeth are aligned in the mouth for a specific reason, and any misalignment can lead to over-worn areas on the teeth. A common cause for excess tooth wear is an uneven bite, which could be the result of an overbite, underbite, a jaw injury, crooked or missing teeth, or even an uneven crown or molding fit. If left untreated, you might experience premature tooth decay.
Excess tooth wear can lead to several more serious dental health concerns because teeth can be worn down to the more sensitive layers beneath the enamel, called the dentin, and dentin erodes even faster and more painfully than enamel once it’s exposed. If left untreated, a person’s teeth can be worn down to their stumps, meaning that bridges, crowns, root canals, implants and even dentures may be necessary to remedy the issue.
Improve Overall Health
Since gum disease is linked to so many health problems, restoring your smile can help protect your overall health. An uneven bite, fractured or missing teeth, and other oral health problems can lead to gum disease simply because they are harder to clean. Correcting what appears to be a cosmetic problem can actually protect you.
Knoxville, TN Restorative Dentistry
Dr. Cain is an experienced dentist who offers many different types of conservative, effective treatments to fit your needs. Schedule a consultation with our office today online or call (865) 219-3622 to keep your smile healthy!
