Whether correcting your smile with porcelain veneers, restoring your tooth with crowns or simply restoring your tooth decay with composite, you want your dental procedures to last you for a while, if not for life.
In a cosmetic case, without prioritizing all the right things, you could be waving goodbye to your results much sooner than you or your wallet would have hoped for, says Dr. Reza Rahgozar, owner of Ace Dental Centres in Coquitlam and Vancouver.
“When it comes to having a long-lasting smile, there are tons of articles and studies done, and it’s very widely discussed. It is well known that the health of the teeth (not having any tooth decay) is extremely important, as is the health of the gum and tissue surrounding the teeth,” he explains.
“But there’s something else that is also very important – something I would say is the secret to a long-lasting smile, and most of the time, it goes ignored.”
This “secret,” says the professional of over 25 years, is all in the bite.
What is a bite?
A person’s bite can be described as how their top and bottom teeth fit together when touching. Ideally, the top and bottom teeth should align completely, allowing for the teeth to rest together, bite into, and chew things comfortably and effectively.
In these cases, the chewing forces pounding on the teeth are evenly distributed and in the right direction.
“However, if a tooth is not in the correct position and the patient is biting down, over the years, it can cause other problems like cracks and fractures in the tooth structure, issues with the gums recession and bone loss. And that’s all because the chewing forces are in the wrong direction,” describes Rahgozar.
In addition to damaging the teeth, gums and bone supporting the teeth, a misaligned bite in severe cases can also make it difficult for people to eat, as well as cause them to experience jaw pain and, in some cases, even can cause headaches and shoulder and neck pain.
Why is bite important to ensure long-lasting cosmetic results?
Because a person's bite can significantly impact the long-term health of the teeth and gums, it is essential that dentists not only consider but also prioritize it when planning out any major dental treatments, from crowns and bridges to cosmetic dentistry and dental implants.
Doing so involves more comprehensive treatment planning than if you were only to prioritize just the beauty, says Rahgozar. However, it also means patients can walk away from the dentist's office knowing their procedures will last longer and, most importantly, not cause them trouble down the road.
"For example, if somebody goes on to have advanced bone loss because of a chronic untreated gum disease caused by a misaligned bite, there is not a good foundation to build or maintain sustainable cosmetic dentistry," he says, continuing that an unhealthy gum and bone, like a poor foundation for a house, can't support or sustain treatments like crowns, bridges, implants or veneers.
“If you have lost the bone support for teeth due to untreated misaligned teeth, you are essentially building a house on a muddy spot, so it’s going to collapse over the years. Sometimes, new patients come to me, saying they put a veneer on a few months ago and that it’s now popping up. Simply, that is because the forces on that tooth are not in the right direction, and the other teeth are hitting it.”
How can you correct your bite?
A misaligned bite is often completely treatable with orthodontic treatments, such as Invisalign, where the teeth are pulled into the correct position.
At Ace Dental Centres, this process involves a comprehensive treatment plan, which starts with getting a digital scan of the jaw to assess what forces are currently acting on the misaligned teeth and how those need to be corrected.
It also comprises a thorough explanation so that patients can understand what needs to happen to get a healthy and long-lasting result.
“We use the latest digital technology, and that’s been key to helping our patients visually see what the underlying problem is and how we can help them to reach their goals, which are a healthy and long-lasting smile, ” says Rahgozar.
If you’re interested in booking with Ace Dental Centres, visit www.acedental.ca.
