You have an overbite, and frankly, you’re not too pleased about it. It’s something that gets in the way of your otherwise perfect smile, and you’re tired of having to hide it whenever it’s time for a photo. After thinking things over, you’ve decided that you want to get the problem corrected and you plan to go through with overbite correction.

That’s when you think about the normal pricing of dental procedures. You’ve heard about how much it can cost to correct oral problems, and that’s not something that you want on your bill right now. Plus, it doesn’t seem to be anything serious, so you should be fine with putting it off for later, right?

The thing is that overbites can cause more problems than you might think. Before you commit to waiting on the procedure, you’ll want to read through this article to learn about the potential risks that come with holding off on correcting your overbite first.

Overbite Correction is Necessary to Stop the Protrusion

Like most people, you probably think that an overbite has to have a limit on how much it can grow and protrude from your mouth. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case; in fact, the longer you hold off from correcting your overbite, the worse it will become.

Overbites are known to worsen over time and will continue to deepen and wear down on the teeth because of the constant clenching and grinding, which will only serve to make your overbite more pronounced. It’s an endless cycle that will end up being physically taxing on your mouth and your overall oral health.

It’s Harder to Maintain Good Oral Health

As someone who’s been living with an overbite for quite a while, you know how much of a challenge it can be to take care of your teeth. The positioning of your jaw makes it harder for you to brush and floss your teeth, especially those located in the back of your mouth, and as a result, your dental hygiene will suffer.

Having your overbite corrected will allow you to access and take care of your teeth in all regions of your mouth, meaning your dental hygiene will be at its best.

You Could End up Having Oral Diseases

Branching off of the earlier statement, a lack of good oral health due to your overbite could eventually lead you to experience a wide range of health issues and oral diseases. It’s not uncommon for people with an overbite to have problems that lead to tooth decay and gum disease. In some rarer cases, people with an overbite may even experience the loss of their teeth.

Of course, the longer that you wait to take care of your overbite condition, the likelier the chances of you getting an oral disease will be, so the sooner you correct the problem the better (and safer) you’ll be.

Your Nutrition May Start to Suffer

This may not have seemed like the most obvious of facts considering it doesn’t directly deal with your overbite, but considering your mouth is the center for intaking your food, it actually makes sense.

Having an overbite is a painful experience, and it only worsens over time. It can even make it difficult to eat a proper meal, which means you won’t be able to take in the nutrients that you need to keep up your good health. This could lead to you losing your healthy weight and being more prone to getting sick due to a lower immune system.

You May Start Having Difficulty Speaking

Overbites cause your jaw to be positioned in an irregular way which makes it hard for you to move your tongue and other muscles in your mouth. As a result, you may experience difficulty saying your words properly.

Speaking requires your mouth to be able to quickly format itself to various positions to produce the correct words, and having an overbite can interfere with this process. You’ll want to have your overbite taken care of quickly so you can start speaking correctly and without feeling pain as you talk.

You Could Experience Trouble Sleeping

It’s a challenge for us to get any sleep at all these days. Having an overbite could make this situation worse, especially for people with smaller mouths. The displacement of your jaw can obstruct your airways, making it harder for air to enter and escape your lungs and forcing you to wake up more frequently from sleep apnea as a result.

With all of these problems that can come with an overbite, it goes without saying that you need to take care of your oral health as soon as you can. There’s no better time than right now!

We’re Here to Help You

Now that you understand the risks that come with putting off an overbite you’ll want to look into making an appointment for an overbite correction procedure as soon as possible. To do that, however, you’ll need to make sure you place an appointment with professionals you can trust for a procedure that won’t break your bank. We’re the right people to help you with the job.

At Graber & Gyllenhaal Orthodontics, we are the leading oral doctors in the industry because we take care of our patients and do our jobs right the first time, every time. We cover a wide scope of oral and dental procedures, including general dental inspections, Invisalign procedures, and the installation of braces, all for a price that works for your needs.

Ready to get started? Make sure to take a look through our site to see what we have to offer, or give us a call whenever you’re ready to make an appointment. Let’s get you the beautiful smile that you deserve!