If you have temporomandibular joint disorder, chances are you experience pain, stiffness, and popping in the joints. Unfortunately, braces can potentially worsen this problem, so you may feel like having straighter-looking teeth isn't a possibility. You'll be glad to know that it's still possible to improve the appearance of your smile without having to risk worsening your TMJ disorder. Read on to learn why braces aren't a good idea, and how you can improve your smile without them.

Danger of Braces

For most people, braces are a great option to straighten their teeth. In addition to making the teeth themselves more aligned and symmetrical, braces can change the length of the jaw over time. This means that people with overbites and underbites can potentially see an improvement in the shape of their jaw and the alignment of their upper and lower teeth.

Unfortunately, braces can potentially worsen your symptoms if you have temporomandibular joint disorder. If your jaw bone is forced inward or pulled outward, it can place more stress upon the temporomandibular joints. In some cases, it can cause enough pressure that the symptoms of the joint worsen, so you may experience more clicking, pain, or even have your jaw lock up frequently following having braces. For this reason, most dentists don't suggest braces to people with temporomandibular joint disorder unless your jaw or teeth have extremely poor alignment and it's a necessity.

Making Your Teeth Appear Straighter

The question, then, is how to make your teeth look straighter without posing a risk to your jaw joints. The answer to this question is to use porcelain veneers.

Porcelain veneers are a thin piece of veneer that are perfectly tailored to cover your natural teeth. Veneers provide the appearance of symmetrical, healthy, white-looking teeth and provide a bit of protection to the real teeth that are underneath them. They're comfortable and dentists can typically apply them in a single visit without the need for surgery or incisions.

If you don't have any serious flaws in the alignment of your teeth that affect your ability to eat or speak, then veneers are the best way to making your smile look perfect.

Having temporomandibular joint disorder isn't easy as it is, so you shouldn't do anything that can potentially worsen your condition. If you're interested in a straighter smile, talk to a dentist like Tore D Steinberg DDS PC about veneers to see if they'll work for your teeth.