Emerging research is consistently demonstrating just how important it is for your mouth to be well balanced and structured if you want to maintain a healthy smile. Our Orland Park dentists are here to give you more information about how your bite, in particular, can affect the way your smile ages. As you’ll see, paying attention to your bite now can really pay off in years to come.
Take a second to assess your bite: do your top and bottom teeth come together smoothly and naturally when you chew? If not, you may be prone to developing premature dental damage.
When a patient’s bite is poorly aligned, he or she unconsciously shifts the lower jaw in order to chew. This puts unhealthy pressure on the patient’s temporomandibular joints, and increase his or her risk of suffering from TMJ dysfunction. Because TMJ disorder can limit jaw mobility and cause all kinds of maxillofacial pain, it is crucial that the patient’s bite alignment be improved.
An uneven bite may also cause you to favor one side of your mouth over the other. Over time, this leads to premature and even dental wear and tear; your dental enamel on certain teeth will thin and become more susceptible to infection as well as fracture. This issue can be compounded by bruxism (chronic dental grinding), which frequently occurs when a patient’s lower jaw does not coordinate with his or her upper teeth.
Seeking prompt treatment for bite issues can help to alleviate day to day discomfort as well as protect your smile for the future. If you think that you may be dealing with bite issues, talk to your dentist about undergoing an assessment and getting some personalized treatment options.
As always, our Tinley Park dentists are here to give you any additional information that you need about bite issues as well as treatment options. So give us a call to get started!