If you have a wonderful smile, you tend to share it naturally and automatically. But a wonderful smile works on so many levels – not just in terms of aesthetics, it is also critical to your dental health, the functionality of your bite and your holistic wellbeing.
It’s a fact that if your teeth are badly aligned or don’t meet well, there can be negative impacts on your health. This has been affirmed by the Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI), which published a policy statement on the topic last year.
The term ‘malocclusion’ is a natural part of our vocabulary as orthodontic experts for defining treatment need. Occlusion, meaning the way your teeth meet, and mal meaning bad. The FDI statement, Malocclusion in Orthodontics and Oral Health, states:
“By considering malocclusion not only as an aesthetic problem, orthodontic treatment can prevent and intercept other oral diseases and improve the quality of life.”
According to the organisation which makes Invisalign, Align Technology, 60-75% of the population worldwide suffers from malocclusion, meaning that millions of people are affected in multifarious ways.
What conditions can be caused by malocclusion?
The negative impacts from malocclusion are mostly dental but, as we know, these conditions can be linked with your overall health. For example, people whose teeth are crooked and don’t meet well are more prone to the following:
- Poor gum health – which can lead to gingivitis
- Plaque – which can lead to dental decay
- Attrition – which damages the teeth and also leads to decay
- Damage to the tissues of the mouth – causing pain or discomfort
In summary, a poor dentition (the arrangement of your teeth) will have an impact on your oral health and can affect your ability to speak, smile, smell, taste and chew; even potentially impacting the way you swallow and convey facial expressions with comfort and confidence.
At The London Lingual Orthodontic Clinic, there is no doubt for us that improving patients’ smiles and bites has a substantial impact on wellbeing. We fully believe that orthodontics should not be categorised as a cosmetic procedure, but as integral to dental and holistic health.
Talk to us about your concerns
If you have concerns around the arrangement of your teeth or how your smile appears, please get in touch with us and we will be happy to arrange a consultation.
The clinic will be opening as of Monday 8th June, although we will also be available to organise consultations via video call.
