People tend to associate Orthodontics treatment with beautifying the smile only, but it is much more than that. Fixing an overbite, crooked or misaligned teeth will show visual effects on your face and smile and it provides you with many dental health benefits as well.
It is crucial to fix an overbite as soon as possible. Not only will it perfect your smile, but more importantly, it will help you avoid oral health issues in the future.
What is an overbite?
Overbite is the misalignment of teeth. People can experience little disproportion in their teeth, but an overbite occurs if your upper teeth cover your lower front teeth in a big proportion. It makes chewing difficult by not distributing biting pressure equally over all the teeth. If not treated in time, overbite can lead to dental problems.
Dangers of Not Correcting Your Overbite
Your beautiful smile is just the tip of the iceberg. The real underlying benefits of correcting your overbite in a timely manner include the avoidance of the following oral health hazards:
- Gum Disease: Gum disease is one type of degeneration of the gum tissues. It occurs when an upper tooth clinches into the gums of lower teeth and vice versa in an overbite condition. It degenerates the gum tissues and can damage the supporting bones also.
- Jaw Pain: Overbite is a condition of malocclusion of jaws and teeth. It may result in severe jaw pain and headache. You can even develop Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD). Your jawbone and skull are connected so TMD spreads across these joints resulting in severe discomfort and pain.
- Tooth Decay: Overbite causes teeth to come in contact with each other in painful areas. The constant grinding will cause tooth decay and fracture. Loss of teeth can also happen. Cleaning teeth also become difficult due to misaligned positions, which further escalates tooth decay.
- Difficulty in Speaking: Since your teeth are not in the correct position when you have an overbite, you may need more help from your tongue while speaking. This can result in faulty speech and it can even become impossible to pronounce certain words.
- Chewing Problems: Your teeth may not hit each other in proper places while chewing, so it often become difficult for you to eat.
- Sleep Apnea: This is one of the most dangerous side effects of overbite. A normal flow of oxygen is essential during your sleep. Due to the abnormal shape of jaws and teeth overlapping each other, your body can not take proper oxygen while sleeping. Hindrance in this natural process causes sleep apnea, which is a condition of abnormal sleep patterns that can create more serious health issues like high blood pressure or even stroke.
When is it too late to treat an Overbite?
The good news is, it’s never too late to treat your overbite! It’s best treated in childhood; however, you need not suffer for the rest of your life because you are late in taking action. Advanced treatments are available for people of elderly age. Better late than never!
How to Fix an Overbite
The kind of overbite treatment will depend on the severity of your condition. Proper checkup and diagnosis helps to plan the best treatment for you. Orthodontic treatment will suffice the issue in most of the cases. Help from orthodontics will embellish your smile, fix your bite, and give proper strength to your teeth. In severe cases of overbite, surgery may be required.
Don’t think twice because of your age or the severity of your overbite. Modern orthodontics techniques have a solution for every condition and age group.
Find an orthodontist to treat overbite near you.
