The alignment of your natural teeth plays a bigger role in your oral health than just dictating your smile’s appearance. When teeth are crooked, they’re often unable to function to their full capabilities, and the imbalances in your bite pressure can lead to a wide range of other potentially serious problems. Today, we examine a few of these problems, and why it’s important to correct your crooked teeth with the right orthodontic treatment as soon as possible to avoid them.

One or more teeth becoming seriously damaged

While a crooked tooth might not seem like it’s in big trouble at the moment, one that becomes cracked or fractured can be of much more immediate concern. Teeth can become damaged in several different ways, but when your teeth are crooked, one of the more common risks is due to excessive and uneven pressure on your teeth whenever you bite and chew. This excess pressure, combined with the misaligned nature of your dentition, can make it more likely that one or more of your teeth can become damaged by the time you do seek treatment to correct your smile.

Your tooth structure developing severe decay

Tooth damage can be an obvious threat to your tooth, especially if the fracture or break is significant. However, tooth decay is the kind of condition that might not seem serious at first, until it becomes more severe and erodes more of your tooth’s structure. When your teeth aren’t aligned properly, oral bacteria can have an easier time clinging to parts of their surfaces that your toothbrush and floss can’t reach. This significantly raises the risks of the bacteria eroding your tooth enamel and leading to the tooth becoming severely decayed.

The gums around your teeth becoming diseased

In addition to direct threats to your tooth structure, tooth misalignment can also affect nearly every other aspect of your oral health. For example, the gum tissues that surround and protect your teeth roots rely on your teeth’s alignment to remain healthy and strong. The longer teeth remain out of alignment, the greater the risks that oral bacteria can accumulate in areas where the misalignment causes the tissues to separate slightly. When gum disease develops and progresses, it becomes the leading cause behind adult tooth loss, and your risks of losing one or more teeth to it will be higher until you address the problem.

Avoid the consequences of crooked teeth

If you ignore the problem long enough, the state of your crooked teeth can lead to several other potentially serious consequences for your oral health. To learn more, schedule your appointment by calling Healthy Smiles in Gary, IN, today at 219-938-2637.