If you are wondering whether it’s worth the money to get a mild to moderate misalignment of your teeth corrected, it’s worth going for a consultation with Dr Suzette Mulder, the Hampshire orthodontist at Winchester Orthodontics.
Dr Mulder has been straightening wonky teeth with orthodontics for many years and has already successfully completed more than 4300 cases since she joined Winchester Orthodontics more than a decade ago.
Why straighter teeth last longer
Today, the emphasis in dentistry is on ‘teeth for life’ and having straight teeth plays an important part in keeping your own teeth throughout your life.
Straight teeth are much easier to keep clean because they offer fewer nooks and crannies for plaque to build up in. Plaque is the mortal enemy of good teeth, causing decay and gum disease, the end result of both is tooth loss.
Also, when your teeth are lined up properly, they work as a team to bear the pressures created by the powerful forces exerted by your jaw joint in chewing. When they are misaligned, only a few teeth can take the brunt of the pressure, and this can result in them crumbling away long before you do.
Modern braces are often more discreet
Unless you have complex alignment issues, you can probably have clear or invisible braces to straighten out your teeth. Invisible clear aligners from Invisalign (often misspelt as Invisaline) can’t be seen once they are in place. Also, they are removable when you eat, making your teeth much easier to keep clean than with brackets cemented onto them.
If you do have complex issues, it’s possible to start off your treatment with traditional metal braces with brackets and wires. They offer more accurate straightening and also work on some problems that aligners cannot tackle. Aligners cannot help badly descended teeth because they need to be pulled into place and aligners can only exert a pushing pressure. So, what some people elect to do is start off their treatment with metal braces and when it becomes possible, move to invisible braces to finish it off.
All these issues can be discussed with the orthodontist in Hampshire when you come in for a consultation.