Table of Contents
- What is Teeth Straightening?
- What is Teeth Alignment?
- Difference Between Teeth Straightening and Alignment
- Common Methods for Teeth Straightening and Alignment
- Best Methods for Teeth Straightening and Alignment
- Why Aligners Are the Best Method to Align Your Teeth?
- FAQs
Misaligned or crooked teeth don’t just impact your smile, they can also increase your risk for dental and gum diseases. But what’s the best way to fix them? That depends on whether you need straightening or alignment, and here’s why it matters.
What is Teeth Straightening?
Teeth straightening means rotating and gently moving your crooked teeth to look straight and give you a perfect smile. Crooked teeth can be a reason for embarrassment and affect your confidence. Hence, most of the people get orthodontic treatment just because they want to have a confident smile. The goal of teeth straightening is to have visually straight, evenly spaced teeth and a perfect smile. It mostly refers to the front six teeth visible in your smile.
What is Teeth Alignment?
When a dentist talks about teeth alignment, it means aligning your jaws and teeth to create a perfect bite. Misalignment of jaws and teeth causes the problem of bad bite.
The goal of teeth alignment is to position your teeth with each other and jaws perfectly. It is where we focus on how upper and lower teeth fit together to achieve proper functionality of your bite. Teeth alignment resolves functional and structural issues like overbite, underbite, spacing, or jaw alignment.
Difference Between Teeth Straightening and Alignment
| Teeth Straightening | Teeth Alignment |
|---|---|
| Focus on visual appearance only | Focus on the functionality of your bite |
| The goal is to give you a perfect smile | The goal is to align your teeth and jaws so that you don’t have any issues in your bite |
| It generally covers the front 6 teeth only | It covers all your teeth and jaws |
| It doesn’t cover issues related to your bite and jaws. | Teeth alignment resolves issues like overbite, underbite, and open bite. |
| It makes cleaning your teeth easy | It improves the overall functionality and visual appearance of both |
These terms are used interchangeably, but there are clear differences between teeth straightening and alignment. Let's have a deep look at teeth straightening and alignment, their benefits, and their limitations.
Functionality of Teeth straightening
Teeth straightening focuses on improving the appearance of crooked teeth.
Benefits
The benefits of teeth straightening are:
- Improved self-confidence: Crooked teeth can kill your confidence. Fixing them will let you speak confidently in the public. No one will notice your awkward teeth anymore and you won't have to hesitate while smiling.
- Easier cleaning: Crowding in the teeth creates unreachable areas for the toothbrush, increasing the chances of getting cavities, bacteria, and plaque. If you don't treat it on time, it can lead to gum disease, infections, and other dental issues.
Limitations
Teeth straightening is perfect for the visual appearance of your smile and overall oral health, but there are certain limitations to it.
- It doesn't resolve issues related to your bite and jaws.
- Straight teeth still might not be aligned properly with opposing jaws, and they can have functional problems like overbite, underbite, or open bite.
Functionality of Teeth alignment
Teeth alignment is a comprehensive orthodontic treatment, it treats the problems related to your bite. It makes sure that your teeth are not only straight but aligned properly with each other and jaws for optimal functionality.
Benefits
The benefits of teeth alignment are:
Perfect bite: Teeth alignment resolves the issues related to your bites such as overbite, underbite, crossbite, and open bite. It improves the strength and efficiency of your bite.
Jaw alignment: It improves the alignment of your jaws and prevents temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders and other jaws-related issues.
Balanced force distribution: It makes sure that chewing force is equally distributed across your teeth. So that you won't have to put extra pressure on some particular area of your mouth.
Overcome the issues in speaking: If you have issues in speaking abilities because of misalignment, it will also resolve this problem.
Easy breathing: Misaligned teeth can cause difficulties in breathing. The alignment will create space for better airflow to make breathing easy for you.
Limitations
There are no particular limitations in general but teeth alignment can take a long time. The method of teeth alignment can also vary depending on the complexity of your misalignment.
Common Methods for Teeth Straightening and Alignment
Misaligned teeth have been a problem since forever. Scientists have found evidence of treatment of crooked teeth since 1000 BC. Many techniques, methods, and tools have been used to align the teeth properly. Orthodontics has evolved and with the advancements in technology, numerous treatments are available for teeth straightening and teeth alignment. But the most common are:
Braces
Braces are the most common method for teeth straightening and alignment. It can straighten your teeth very precisely. Metallic wires on your teeth will put constant pressure to align your teeth. When it comes to teeth alignment, it can only treat mild to moderate crowding. For complex crowding, dental surgery is required.
Time duration: Braces can take a long time to straighten your teeth. It generally takes one to three years to align your teeth using braces.
Cost: Braces cost around $3000 to $10,000 depending on the types of braces and where you buy from.
Benefits: They can align your teeth precisely, give you a perfect smile, and solve most of the issues related to your bite.
Drawbacks: Braces are a good way to treat dental crowding, but it takes a lot of time, it is expensive, and it is uncomfortable to have metallic wires in your mouth. It can also be embarrassing to have metallic wires in your mouth. Food can get stuck in your braces causing difficulties while eating and brushing your teeth.
Clear Aligners
Clear aligners are the modern technique widely used for teeth alignment. They can also align your teeth very accurately. They are customized transparent trays of plastic to wear all day. You will have to change the trays every two weeks. Each tray has a different size because they align your teeth gradually. They will put gentle pressure on your teeth and jaws to bring them to the right place. Aligners can also treat mild to moderate cases very precisely. For complex problems, you might have to undergo dental surgery first.
Time duration: Aligners are quicker than braces. They generally take only 4-6 months to align your teeth. If you wear night-only aligners, it can take 6-8 months.
Cost: Clear aligners are cheaper than traditional braces. ALIGNERCO offers 2 types of aligners, All-Day aligners for $795, and NightOnly aligners cost around $995.
Benefits: Aligners can solve most of the issues in your bite like overbite, underbite, and open bite. They are invisible, comfortable, cheaper, and quicker than braces. And the best part is that you can eat and drink anything you want, just remove your aligners and eat whatever you want.
Drawbacks: Since they are removable, compliance can be an issue. If you are unable to wear your aligners for the recommended time, achieving the desired results won’t be possible. You might feel some discomfort while changing each tray of aligners for one or two days.
Veneers
Veneers are custom-made shells used to improve the visual appearance of your teeth. They are used only for teeth straightening, and don't align your teeth. If a few of your teeth are crooked, broken, or damaged, they might be suitable for you. But if you have multiple crooked teeth, aligners are a better option.
Time duration: Veneers are simply glued on your damaged teeth to make them look straight. So it does not take a lot of time, they can be placed quickly in the dentist’s office.
Cost: Veneers cost from $250-$2500 depending on the type of veneers you choose. They are an expensive option, but they make your teeth look naturally straight.
Benefits: It can make your teeth look straight very quickly to give you a decent smile. Veneers can also make your teeth look cleaner and shiny.
Drawbacks: Veneers don't align your teeth, they don't even straighten your teeth in reality. They just make them look straight. They don't deal with any issues related to the alignment of your teeth or your bite.
Orthodontic Surgery
Orthodontic surgery is the final option to align your teeth. It is only required if you have a severe case of dental crowding. Surgery is needed for major dental issues like issues in the skeleton that affect the alignment of your teeth and jaws. For example, impacted wisdom teeth, severe cases of periodontitis, jawbone issues, or oral cancer.
Time duration: It's a surgical process so it can be done in hours, but it will take days and weeks, sometimes even months to recover. But the results are generally quick.
Cost: Orthodontic surgery is expensive in the United States, It can cost $3000 to $50,000 or even more, depending on the severity of your issue, your location, and your dentist.
Benefits: It can treat major dental issues, which can't be treated by any other technique. It will improve the functionality of your bite, solve all your dental problems, and give you a perfect smile.
Drawbacks: It's a surgical process so it can be painful. It is expensive and it can take a long time to recover. You can feel pain for days, and even weeks.
Functional Appliances
There are some other functional appliances used to straighten and align your teeth. Such as palatal expanders are used for patients with narrow upper jaws or crossbites. These work best for child patients from 8-10 years of age. Adults can also use it, depending on the complexity of your misalignment. There are more tools to straighten and align your teeth such as the Herbst appliance, or the Twin Block.
Time duration: Time duration depends on the tool, the severity of your misalignment, and your dental health. From days, weeks, months to even a whole year.
Cost: It can vary depending on the tool used for you, its type, the severity of your case, the dentist you choose, and many more factors. Palatal expanders can cost from $1000-$6000.
Best Methods for Teeth Straightening and Alignment
With so many options for teeth straightening and alignment, what's the best method for you? It depends on the severity of your case, but if you have mild to moderate misalignment clear aligners are the best choice. If you have only a few teeth broken or crooked, you can use veneers. But if your case is complex, you might have to undergo an orthodontic surgery.
Why Aligners Are the Best Method to Align Your Teeth?
If you have a complex level of misalignment you might have to undergo surgery. Veneers don't straighten your teeth, they just make them look straight. So braces and aligners are options to align your teeth in mild to moderate cases.
What's best for you, aligners or braces?
Braces vs. Aligners has been a big debate. We have already discussed both in detail above, let's compare both of them.
| Factor | Braces/Aligner | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | 1/1 | Both |
| Time duration | 0/1 | Aligners |
| Cost | 0/1 | Aligners |
| Restrictions | 0/1 | Aligners |
| Comfort | 0/1 | Aligners |
| Dental Visits | 0/1 | Aligners |
All these factors show that clear aligners are the best for you in mild or moderate misalignment of teeth.
FAQs
What is the difference between aligning and straightening teeth?
Aligning your teeth refers to perfecting the functionality of your bite, and straightening your teeth simply refers to enhancing the visual appearance of your smile.
Do braces and aligners align teeth or straighten them?
Braces and aligners can align your teeth and jaws to give you a perfect bite and a beautiful smile with straight teeth.
How long does it take to align or straighten teeth?
It depends on the method you choose. Clear aligners can take 4-6 months and braces can take 1 to 3 years or even more to align your teeth.
Can teeth alignment fix jaw pain or bite issues?
Yes, teeth alignment can fix jaw pain and bite issues by correcting the positions of your teeth and jaws.
Are aligners as effective as braces for straightening teeth?
Braces and aligners are both effective for treating mild to moderate dental misalignments.
