Dealing with crooked teeth can make you feel self-conscious and turn your smile into a frown. When you have an unaligned smile, it’s not just an issue of how you look, but also with how you feel.

If you have crooked teeth, you need to be aware that there are a number of other health-related problems this condition can present besides an uneven smile.

Read on to discover 10 dangers that come with having crooked teeth so you can take steps to get the problem corrected. Your smile and your body will thank you for it!

1. You’re More Prone to Gum Disease

When you have crooked teeth, you’re much more apt to end up with gum disease since it’s much more difficult to clean between your teeth. When plaque builds up in between teeth, it causes harmful bacteria to multiply. When your teeth are crowded or crooked, there’s more opportunity for bacteria to grow and plaque to develop.

2. It’s More Difficult to Keep Your Teeth Clean

Flossing is hard enough, but with crooked teeth, it’s even more challenging to get it between those tight spaces. The same thing applies to your toothbrush, which means you could have a tough time trying to keep your oral hygiene in check.

When the teeth are close together, it’s almost impossible to get that all-important floss in between tight spaces.

3. Crooked Teeth Wear Out Faster

If your bottom teeth are crowded, one or more of them could protrude and rub against your upper teeth. Even if you don’t have a problem with it now, this issue can cause excess wear of your enamel over time.

When the teeth rub together, it slowly wears away the protective enamel, resulting in problems like cavities and even a possible abscess tooth.

4. It’s Tough To Chew

For many people, their teeth are crooked due to a misaligned jaw. When this happens, the upper and lower teeth may protrude, which causes them to rub together and make chewing difficult. If you can’t chew your food thoroughly, you could end up choking or dealing with digestion issues.

5. Bad Breath is Common

Since crooked teeth tend to harbor bacteria, it’s no surprise that you may end up with some pretty bad breath. It can be hard to get all of that bacteria out from between your teeth, so your breath ends up smelling not-so-pleasant.

You can try to combat this by using mouthwash and breath freshening products, but correcting the issue is the best way to stop bad breath from occurring.

6. Don’t Forget the Psychological Effects

Your smile plays a big role in not only how you look, but also how you feel. People with a beautiful smile tend to smile more, which lowers stress and anxiety levels.

With a crooked smile, you could have a lower confidence level which can, in turn, cause you to smile less and stress more. Anything that affects your self-esteem in a negative way can have a serious snowball effect on your mental health.

7. Heart Problems

This one might surprise you, but having crooked teeth could do more than just affect your self-esteem or cause bad breath. When harmful bacteria are in your mouth, they can actually get into your bloodstream and cause problems with your heart valves.

This issue is still up for debate, but there are also some who believe if you swallow oral plaque, it can also have a serious negative effect on heart health.

8. An Increased Risk of Broken Teeth

When your teeth are crooked, it puts excess strain on the jaw, your jaw muscles, and the teeth themselves. If your jaw is constantly strained, there’s no doubt that you’ll feel it in time.

Strained jaw muscles can cause pain and put excess pressure on the teeth, resulting in a higher risk of breakage. When you break a tooth, you’ll have to deal with the pain associated with it along with expensive dental costs.

9. Frequent Headaches

Whether it’s from the pressure on your jaw muscles or your teeth simply rubbing together on a constant basis, crooked teeth can contribute to frequent, painful headaches.

You might not realize it, but this condition could be the main cause of your headaches that you probably didn’t know about. Any part of the face that feels pressure or excess strain will cause your head to hurt, so crooked teeth may be the reason why you’re always battling a headache.

10. TMJ

If you have an unaligned smile, you could end up suffering from TMJ disorder. This highly painful jaw disorder can cause a myriad of painful symptoms like pain in your face, neck, and shoulders as well as frequent jaw popping and locking. TMJ is caused as a result of too much wear on your jaw and the hinge joint, and crooked teeth and TMJ often go hand-in-hand.

Experience the Benefits of Straighter Teeth

Now that you know more about the health risks that crooked teeth can bring, it’s time to consider treatments that can get your condition corrected. Whether it’s a sore jaw and headaches or fewer smiles, you should be able to enjoy the benefits of a straight smile.

When crooked teeth are ignored, it can cause gum disease, tooth decay, and breakage. To save your smile and your health, consider getting orthodontic care that can help get your teeth back on the straight and narrow.

For more information about our services or to schedule an appointment, please contact us today.