Benefits of Orthodontic Treatment
For most persons, orthodontic treatment is only for aesthetic purposes, particularly for people who want to improve their appearance and have a beautiful smile. Contrary to this belief, orthodontic treatment corrects different dental issues that may affect one’s quality of life. Undergoing orthodontic treatment like Invisalign not only improves your appearance, but it can solve issues like speech difficulties.
Speech impediments resulting from poor teeth alignment
Having poorly aligned teeth is usually the cause of common speech difficulties like slurring works, mispronouncing words with S or T. Sometimes, misaligned teeth cause whistling. Overjet or overbite may also cause buck teeth. If you want to pronounce words correctly, your teeth and bite need to be properly aligned. When your teeth properly bite together, it creates a seal which helps the tongue to sit in the roof of your mouth and swallow properly.
For people with an overbite, the tongue creates the seal instead of the teeth, causing speech difficulties. Underbite or crossbite may also cause speech impediments because the tongue would not have sufficient space to make sounds correctly.
Who is at risk of having speech disorders?
Some people inherit their speech disorders from their parents, so it is possible to develop speech disorders resulting from misaligned teeth if your parents or older siblings experience lisping, mumbling or have poorly aligned teeth.
However, certain factors asides from genetics may cause teeth misalignment issues which result in speech disorders. These factors include the following.
- Using pacifiers for more than a few years, at a young age
- Thumb sucking past the age of three
This factor particularly causes jaw and teeth development issues because the thumb pushes the upper jaw outwards, making it narrower and increasing the risk of overcrowding. Children who suck their thumb have an increased risk of having buck teeth, and their teeth may not fit together.
Misaligned teeth are also responsible for other health problems, so it is important to undergo orthodontic treatment before the dental issues escalate.
How orthodontic issues causes TMJ neck pain or headaches
A poorly aligned bite not only affects speech production, but it also affects general health. A poorly aligned bite causes an imbalance in the tendons, bones, joints, and muscle function within the neck and head area, so these body parts do not function properly.
When you realign your teeth, it corrects the imbalance in your head and neck tendons, muscles, and joints. It also restores the proper function of your teeth, relieving the neck and headaches.
The temporomandibular joints help move the lower jaw and connect to the base of the skull. This joint allows the proper functioning of the lower jaw to enable you to talk and eat. If you have teeth or bite alignment issues, it affects your jaw muscles and joints, resulting in TMD or TMJ disorder. Undergoing orthodontic treatment will help to realign the jaw and relieve the pressure in the temporomandibular joint.
What signs are associated with misaligned teeth?
If you have teeth misalignment issues, your teeth would not fit perfectly when you bite down. You may notice that your upper teeth will slightly sit outside the lower teeth and the inner cusps of the back teeth (the pointed areas of your teeth close to your tongue) will not fit into the middle groves of your lower teeth in the back of your mouth.
Having teeth that properly fit, guides the teeth’s movement to allow proper speech production and eating. It also allows your jaw and teeth to function correctly, but, when you have teeth alignment issues, your teeth will not bite together, and some will not meet when you close your mouth.
If you have a malocclusion like an open bite, your upper front teeth will not fit correctly over the lower front teeth. This may lead to frequent biting of your tongue or inside your cheeks when you chew food.
When do you need to visit the orthodontist?
If you are having issues with pronouncing certain words, then you may need to visit your orthodontist. Having a consultation with your orthodontist will help you fully understand your dental issue and the right solution.
If you notice your child has speech problems at an early age, you need to seek orthodontic treatment because proper communication for children is necessary to enable them to interact with people. You should have an orthodontist check the child’s bite.
Ensure you visit an orthodontist to check your bite if you find moving your lower jaw discomforting and experience neck ache or headache. Your orthodontist will examine your bite and recommend a suitable treatment.
Treatments for teeth alignment issues
Different advanced orthodontic treatment is available to correct misaligned teeth which cause speech difficulties. The suitable treatment for you will depend on the problem you want to correct and your age.
Children with misaligned teeth that cause speech impediments can undergo early orthodontic treatment. Different orthodontic options are available for adults even for those whose teeth have gradually moved due to ageing or poorly fitted dental restoration like bridges. Presently, some braces offer a discrete treatment option, and they are suitable for professionals with a busy schedule.
Realigning your teeth can help you maintain and improve good oral hygiene which helps improve your general health. Your oral health has a direct link to your general health. For example, poor oral hygiene may lead to gum disease and directly linked to heart conditions and diabetes. When you have straighter and properly aligned teeth, it helps reduce your risk of developing gum disease.
Ensure you realign your teeth as soon as you can to prevent the different issues above resulting from misaligned teeth. You can get invisible braces in Battersea to correct your misaligned teeth at Chatfield Dental Braces.
