A Beautiful Smile Begins at Your Salt Lake City Orthodontist

When meeting a new person, your words of greeting are accompanied by your smile, and your mouth can say more about you than the words you speak. If your teeth are crooked, such malocclusions may prevent you from actually showing "How nice it is to meet you." When your smile shows your teeth leaning in and out, like an old picket fence, or your front teeth stick out like a horse's, it could negatively effect your confidence and your health. Since proper dental positioning is necessary for eating and talking, you may be using your jaw in an improper way to prevent biting your tongue or cheek, causing a misalignment of your jaw. Now is time to make an appointment with a Salt Lake City orthodontist, because if your teeth and jaw don't line up properly, you could end up with breathing difficulties, such as sleep apnea and snoring. Those malocclusions could even be responsible for your blinding headaches! If that's not enough, basic dental care can be affected by crooked teeth: Food tends to get stuck in between improperly positioned teeth where your toothbrush can't get in, causing dental cavities, gum disease, tooth pain and over-sensitively to heat and cold, and loss of permanent teeth earlier than usual. Where's your smile then?

Experts suggest that children should visit a Salt Lake City orthodontist as early as age seven especially if malocclusions run in the family. An exam before the permanent teeth have all erupted can catch dental irregularities that can be taken care of early. Interceptive treatment can correct problems that may cause asymmetric facial growth. The tissues and jaw bones of the child are still growing which makes it easier to shift the teeth and adjust the size and position of the jaw. For example, a palatal expander orthopedically makes the upper jaw wider to correct a severe cross bite. As the jaw widens, new cartilage grows into the space created by the separation of the midpalatal suture.

A qualified Salt Lake City orthodontist can figure out the extent of early intervention that a child needs. Bad customs like sucking the thumb or finger can cause an overbite to develop so it is best to stop this custom as soon as possible. As a matter of fact, there is a better chance the younger they are that they can be helped to stop thumb sucking and pushing their tongue out. If these customs are not corrected, the teeth in the front may end up sticking out from the gum. Because stuck out teeth are easily injured, it is easy to understand that immediate intervention can avoid misalignments of the teeth in the future.

Crooked teeth may be a source of embarrassment for anyone. Your Salt Lake City orthodontist can recommend different options for correcting misaligned teeth. Dental irregularities cause low self esteem and insecurity. There are many new products and pain free techniques for obtaining nice, straight teeth. There are different price ranges for the treatments, and most doctors will work with you to come up with a payment arrangement.