Chicago Family Dentist

Braces have done wonderful things for children’s school photos and later wedding photos. Unfortunately, as great as all of those straight teeth look, there is a lot of potential for harm in teeth.

The biggest threat from braces to the overall health of a person’s teeth is from cavities. Many children, and adults as well, are unable to brush their teeth as well as they would or should because of the presence of all the metal and wires in their mouths. A diminished ability to brush means that there is greater potential for food and other items to get caught against the teeth and cause decay.

If a person doesn’t end up with perfectly straight, cavity infested teeth, he or she may end up with perfectly straight teeth with severely damaged enamel. The enamel can be damaged by a variety of factors, particularly the presence of food against the teeth. This enamel damage can be evidenced by speckled teeth when the braces are removed. Fortunately, this is not nearly as severe a problem as the cavities.

Another significant problem is that moving permanent, or adult, teeth around before they are fully formed can result in damaged or shortened roots. While it is not necessarily a huge problem, shortened roots can mean that the teeth are less stable in the mouth.

Contact a Chicago Family Dentist

For information on straightening teeth without braces, contact the Chicago family dentists of Advanced Family Dental Associates at 773-767-1554.