Does it seem like everyone in your peer group is fixated on having straighter teeth? Well, there’s a couple of reasons why it has become so important to have teeth that line up well.

People notice what your teeth are like

Over many thousands of years, we have evolved to take a great deal of notice of each other’s teeth. These days, it may seem like we are just being fussy, but in the not so distant past, checking out each other’s teeth was a way of working out how safe it was to be around someone.

Imagine you are out and about in Banbury in the middle ages and you run into some new people. Before you get too chatty with them, you are going to want to take a good look at their teeth. If they are yellow and stumpy and their breath is not so fragrant, you’d probably elect to stand a few paces back, so that you did not pick up any infections they might have been harbouring.

These days, we are much less likely to be wandering about with any really nasty diseases that are contagious, but we still subconsciously focus on each other’s’ mouths and take note of what we see there.

So, if you feel like everyone notices that your teeth are not perfectly straight, that’s because they do.

Straighter teeth mean healthier mouths

When you have teeth that aren’t straight, over time it can lead to several problems.

Firstly, wonky teeth provide more places for bacterial plaque to build up and harden into calculus. Once that happens, and it takes about 3 days, you can no longer brush the plaque away. Meanwhile, under the calculus that plaque is still reproducing and giving off acids that will rot your teeth and attack your gums, eventually causing them to fall out, either through decay or gum disease. Straighter teeth tend to last longer than wonky ones.

Secondly, if some teeth are bearing the brunt of all your chewing, they may well crumble away after some years. Uneven chewing pressure can also cause a lot of pain.

So, come into Amsel & Wilkins and find out how we can help you get straighter teeth.