Many think that cosmetic dentistry is not healthcare, believing it to solely be something someone seeks for vanity. However, cosmetic dentistry can impact your overall oral health.
Fixing the appearance of your teeth can also correct their alignment, making them easier to clean and lowering your chance of dental issues. Cosmetic dentistry can also help with problems that cause pain, make it hard to eat and speak, and leave you susceptible to harmful bacteria.
Plus, because cosmetic dentistry can improve your oral health, it can also improve your overall health. Oral health is directly linked to overall health, so it can make a huge difference in your life.
While it’s more widely accepted that cosmetic dentistry can improve your oral health, there are some ways in which it can negatively affect your oral health, namely, if you’re trying to correct teeth that are already perfectly healthy.
Check out the pros and cons of cosmetic dentistry below to see if it’s the right fit for you.
Cosmetic Dentistry Can Improve Your Oral Health
While many people seek cosmetic dentistry to improve their appearance, that’s not the only benefit. It’s much easier to clean and maintain teeth that are straighter, more uniformly shaped, and don’t have large gaps or overly tight spaces.
Plaque is more likely to build up on and between your teeth if you have difficulty cleaning the hard-to-reach spaces.
Since cosmetic dentistry can help make cleaning easier, it can also reduce the risk of cavities, tooth decay, periodontal disease, and many other mouth and tooth problems.
Cosmetic Dentistry Can Correct Your Bite
Similar to the above, cosmetic dentistry, such as braces and Invisalign, can correct an abnormal bite that may cause pain, joint stiffness, and headaches, among other things.
Cosmetic Dentistry Can Fix Your Chipped Teeth
When you chip your tooth, you can visit a cosmetic dentist who will fill in the empty space. Filling in the chipped tooth not only restores your smile and confidence, but it also helps keep your tooth healthy.
Chipped teeth are more vulnerable to harmful bacteria that lead to tooth decay. By filling in a chipped tooth, a cosmetic dentist helps protect the long-term health of your tooth.
Get Your Teeth Back With Cosmetic Dentistry
Missing teeth often cause confidence issues and make talking and eating hard. Cosmetic dentists can create new prosthetic teeth to replace the missing ones. They’ll even use the latest technology to ensure your new teeth look just like your old ones. This can come in the form of dentures or crowns, for example.
Oral Care Affects Your Overall Health
One of the biggest myths about dental care is that oral health only affects the mouth. This misconception leads many to believe that caring for their oral health isn’t a big deal. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Dr. Brittany Seymour is a professor of oral health policy and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She says, “About 300 diseases and conditions are linked in some way to oral health — triggering some problems and worsening others.”
Cavities aren’t the least of your worries. Bacteria and inflammation in the mouth can enter the bloodstream and other vital areas of the body, like the heart, negatively affecting your health. Harvard Medical School says, “People with poor oral health [such as those with gum disease or tooth loss] have higher rates of heart attacks.”
Many find out they have diabetes because the symptoms often begin in the mouth. Those with diabetes frequently experience gum disease, mouth infections, slow healing inside the mouth, dry mouth, and even a change in taste.
Additionally, those with diabetes are three times more likely to get Periodontitis than someone without diabetes. Periodontitis causes inflammation of the bones that support the teeth. The inflammation can also occur in the gums. However, diabetics with periodontitis can reduce their chance of kidney, eye, and nerve damage if they begin taking better care of their gums.
So, by caring for your oral health, you’re also being proactive with your overall health.
What This All Means
Overall, cosmetic dentistry has a positive impact on health because it makes your teeth easier to clean, reduces the risk of dental problems, makes it easier to eat and speak, and reduces pain.
Even those who have healthy smiles may not be happy with the color of their teeth or gums. With cosmetic dentistry procedures like teeth whitening or gum bleaching, some people find this helps improve their confidence!
Sandy Springs/Atlanta Top-Rated Cosmetic Dentist
Not sure which cosmetic dentistry procedure you need done? Our dentists will create a dental treatment plan fit just for your aesthetic preference, budget and time frame! We’re in the following areas to serve you! Just click here to contact us for your private consultation.
Posted on behalf of Creative Dentistry & MedSpa