Five Signs That It’s Time for You to Get Braces By Kellyn Hodges on May 07, 2016

In a perfect world, nobody would have to get braces in order to achieve his or her ideal smile. However, for many people, orthodontic treatment ultimately represents a blessing, even if it requires some hard work and dedication on their part for a few months or even a few years. In the end, most patients who undergo treatment with braces or another orthodontic appliance are so thrilled with their results that the time they invested in their smile seems minimal by comparison.

Dr. Kellyn Hodges has devoted her entire professional life to helping patients realize their perfect smiles through orthodontic treatment. However, before she can help them, they must first recognize that they could benefit from braces. You may think that people would definitively know whether they needed braces; however, this is often not the case. Some instances of misalignment or malocclusion are not apparent, even though they produce symptoms. In these cases, unless an orthodontist or dentist diagnoses the problem, a person may go a lifetime without realizing how much better his or her oral health could have been.

We invite you to read the following five signs it’s time for braces provided by our Philadelphia, PA orthodontist and then contact our practice to schedule your initial consultation with Dr. Kellyn Hodges.

Five Signs You May Need Braces

Here are five signs that you may benefit from braces, traditional or otherwise:

You notice that you frequently have bad breath, even though you brush, floss, and use mouthwash: This may not be your fault. Food particles and bacteria may be getting trapped between crowded teeth, which in turn is causing your bad breath. This misalignment can be corrected through orthodontic treatment.
You speak with a lisp or have other difficulties with your speech: Certain persistent speech problems can be attributed to misalignment of the teeth.
You experience frequent jaw pain as well as clicking noises when you bite and chew: Misalignment affects not only your teeth, but also your jaw. This misalignment can place undue pressure on your temporomandibular joints, the ball-like joints that attach your lower jaw to your skull on either side of your head, just in front of your ears. When these joints become worn or inflamed, it leads to a condition called temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorder, which is associated with symptoms ranging from jaw and neck pain to migraines and blurred vision. In such cases, braces can restore quality of life on many levels.
Your upper and lower teeth don’t meet when you bite down: This is probably the simplest way to determine whether your bite is sound. Your upper teeth should not extend past your lower teeth, nor should your lower teeth extend past your upper teeth, when you bite down. If either case is true, then you may require braces.
You have spaces between teeth: If you see visible spaces between your teeth, your bite is likely not sound. You may require braces.