About the Importance of Proper Jaw Alignment
When your jaw is aligned, there is a sense of balance in the appearance of your face, particularly your lower face. The function of your teeth is also improved, and biting and chewing becomes easier. Patients who have proper jaw alignment also experience ease when it comes to closing their lips comfortably, and are less likely to suffer from TMJ disorders and other jaw problems. Furthermore, a patient with a properly aligned jaw is prone to issues like obstructive sleep apnea.
One of the most compelling benefits of proper jaw alignment is actually less tangible, and has to do with the way you are perceived by society. Of course, others’ perceptions of you are simply perceptions, but we could all benefit from the confidence boost that comes with greater social ease. In any social situation, your smile is one of the first features people notice about you, and the power of a beautiful, healthy smile is immense. The appearance of your smile is directly related to jaw alignment, and a survey of over 2000 respondents found that 80% of American adults believe that “bad teeth” could adversely affect both your personal and professional life.
For example, individuals with overbites and underbites, which are symptoms of misalignment, are seen as marginally less attractive and less confident than those with a properly aligned jaw, according to the Journal of Orofacial Orthopedics. Furthermore, problems with jaw alignment can alter your facial profile, making you appear older. All of these issues can negatively affect your social perception and self-confidence.
Ways Our Team Can Help Improve Your Jaw Alignment
If you do suffer with a misaligned jaw, it is important to understand that it is quite a common issue, and there are steps you can take towards improvement if it interferes with your quality of life. At Anne Lyon DDS, we offer a variety of services that can help improve your jaw alignment. We are dedicated to providing customized treatment plans to help our patients look and feel their best. Some of the ways we can help with jaw alignment include:
We offer different orthodontic treatments designed to meet the needs of each individual patient, including Six-Month Smile®, MTM Aligner Therapy, ClearCorrect, and Invisalign. Braces will help create a stronger jawline by bringing the bite into alignment in a more ideal position. If you struggle with jaw alignment, the goal of your treatment plan will be to create more harmony in the bottom area of your face, which will make everyday activities more comfortable and create a more aesthetically pleasing facial appearance.
Porcelain veneers are used to address a large scale of dental issues and create what many patients think of as their “dream smile.” We can customize our porcelain veneers to cover the surfaces of your teeth, giving a uniform appearance. Porcelain veneers will restore the shape and functionality of your teeth, help realign your bite by filling empty gaps and spaces, and create a sense of harmony and symmetry in the face, all of which will encourage proper bite alignment.
Crowns and bridges are designed to restore, protect, and replace your teeth. For those who have jaw misalignment and damaged teeth, this might be the solution they need. The restorative procedure bridges the gap created by missing teeth. Crowns and bridges can improve jaw alignment similarly to the way porcelain veneers do because the results support your teeth and give you a more balanced bite.
For patients with misaligned jaws who are missing teeth entirely, or need to have teeth extracted and replaced, dental implants can be an effective solution. The procedure can help jaw misalignment because, in some patients, missing or damaged teeth are to blame for jaw issues. When those teeth are replaced, the issue often subsides. Our team offers both single dental implants for those who need to replace one tooth and All-on-4™ dental implants, which can replace all of the teeth if necessary.
There is no need to live with a misaligned jaw any longer! Get the confidence boost you deserve, and call our office today at (512) 488-4778, or contact us online to discover which general or cosmetic dental service would be best for your needs.