Why Straighter Teeth Are Not Only More Attractive But Often Healthier Too

Orthodontic treatment – helping Bedford patients achieve better looking and healthier teeth

Despite the blip due to current economic conditions, cosmetic dentistry is more popular than ever. Millions of people have now decided that they want their teeth not only to be healthy but more attractive too.

Whilst the teeth whitening procedure is one of our most popular, there is one treatment that some patients sometimes feel reluctant to have and that is to have their teeth straightened. Let’s take a closer look….

This treatment can take a relatively long period of time for the results to be seen, with even small cosmetic adjustments taking several weeks. As a lot of people still think ‘old style’ highly-visible dental braces are needed to achieve this, it’s probably no great surprise that some people are put off having their teeth straightened.

Modern cosmetic dentistry has the answers though in the form of almost invisible orthodontics like Invisalign, which are available here at The Dental Centre Bedford.

What is Invisalign?

Unlike traditional orthodontics, Invisalign is neither very visible or permanently fixed into the mouth throughout the treatment. There are no wires or brackets either which significantly reduces the risk of tooth decay from food becoming trapped in the wiring.

Instead of using traditional teeth straightening methods, Invisalign uses a series of transparent trays that fit over the teeth and are produced from impressions that we will take of your teeth. Not only is this an efficient way of straightening your teeth but a custom one that makes them more comfortable for you to wear. Each tray is worn for a while before being replaced by the next with each progressively moving your teeth towards the desired end position.

Depending on the extent of the correction needed, this treatment can take a year or more to complete (there are other orthodontics available for less extensive work which take less time but these are not usually removable as Invisalign is). A year or more may seem a long time but the convenience of this popular orthodontic system compensates for this to a large extent. We all know that traditional braces can make eating awkward as well as making removing food debris from the wires and brackets tricky too. With Invisalign this is not something you need to worry about.

Invisalign can be removed when you eat a meal and when you want to clean your teeth. You will, of course, also need to keep the trays clean and we will provide information on that. The worry about trapped food is gone and you can brush and floss as you would normally. You must however wear your aligners as prescribed as the more they are removed, the longer the treatment process will take.

Your route to a more attractive smile

This is almost certainly the main reason that most people want to have straighter teeth, and why not? A more even smile is certainly more attractive than one with crooked teeth and a person’s smile is one of the first things that we notice about them, especially when we meet for the first time. Whether we are attending a job interview or meeting someone on a date, there is little doubt that a nice even smile will often work in our favour.

Although a great smile is the main reason that people have orthodontic treatment at our modern Bedford dental clinic, this is not the only benefit that the results provide.

Healthier teeth

You might wonder why an even set of teeth would be healthier than one that isn’t. There are a few reasons for this. Aside from perhaps taking more care of a smile that you are proud of as opposed to one that you aren’t, the fact is that food becomes trapped less easily where teeth are even. A crooked set of teeth will almost certainly have areas where the teeth overlap or fit tightly together and food can become trapped and difficult to remove, even with dental floss.

Having even teeth means that it becomes easier not only to keep the flat surfaces of your teeth clean, but the spaces between them too. This will help you to avoid tooth decay and gum disease problems as long as you brush well and use floss correctly.

The other factor is that having crooked teeth sometimes results in the incorrect biting surface being used when you eat. This can cause the teeth to fracture or at least for the enamel to become worn down more easily. These problems can result in tooth sensitivity, decay or even breakages. Having straighter teeth will help you to avoid this.

If you would like to talk to one of our dentists to discuss straightening your teeth, or for any other dental reason, please make an appointment with us by calling The Dental Centre Bedford on 01234 819868.