9 Habits That Can Damage Your Teeth
Taking care of your teeth involves a lot more than brushing your teeth regularly. You must take measures to care for your gums, protect the enamel, and prevent bacterial infections. This means avoiding certain harmful habits that may destroy your teeth. Here are some of those habits.
1. Chewing Ice
Chewing ice can lead to the chipping and cracking of your teeth. Chips and cracks are not treatable, and your only options include root canal, crown, and composite filling.
You may chew ice because you want to crunch something. Instead, use a plastic straw or chew sugar-free gum to overcome the fixation on ice chewing. Another option is to crunch foods such as popcorn, carrot sticks, and apples.
2. Consuming Many Sugary Foods
Sugar is not ideal for your overall oral health. Bacteria inside your mouth will feed on the sugar and break it down into acids. The acids react with the enamel and cause erosion of the outermost layer of your tooth. While all sugary foods are bad; sticky, sugary foods are the worst.
Consuming an excess of sugary foods and drinks will almost always lead to tooth decay over time. Whenever you consume sugary foods, rinse out your mouth and brush your teeth immediately afterward to remove any sugar that may have accumulated on the teeth.
3. Grinding Your Teeth
You may not even realize that you are grinding your teeth, but this habit can damage your teeth. The habit usually occurs during sleep and can be caused by anger, stress, and other psychological issues.
You can work with a medical professional to determine the cause of the grinding habit. Another solution is to wear a mouthguard before sleeping.
4. Smoking
Whenever you use tobacco products, you put your overall health, including your lungs and heart, at risk. Smoking also increases the risk of gum disease and can lead to tooth discoloration. In addition, smokers often have bad breath and may lose their teeth due to the decaying properties of tobacco. Work with your dentist to treat the impact of smoking on your oral health as you find ways to quit smoking.
5. Heavy Drinking
Excessive consumption of alcohol will reduce the amount of saliva in your mouth. This will increase the risk of cavities and cause bad breath. Since alcohol also has abundant amounts of acids, it will wear away the enamel.
Consume less alcohol or go for carbonated sparkling water to prevent tooth decay and other oral effects of alcohol.
6. Using Your Teeth as a Tool
The sole purpose of the teeth is to chew food items. When you use your teeth for other purposes, such as opening bottles or packages, your teeth can crack or chip. Always use the right tools, such as a bottle opener or scissors, to open packages and bottles.
7. Consuming Excessive Coffee
Coffee has ingredients that can cause teeth discoloration. The problem is especially severe if you drink lots of coffee. In the end, your teeth may become yellow and dull. In addition, the sugar in coffee causes tooth decay. Therefore, try to cut down your intake of coffee or turn to alternate sources of energy, such as regular exercise.
8. Biting Your Fingernails
As you go throughout your day, bacteria will accumulate under your fingernails. If you bite your fingernails, the bacteria will end up in your mouth. The bacteria can cause infections, especially if you have a small cut or wound in the mouth. While biting fingernails is often an impulsive habit in many people, try as much as possible to avoid the habit.
9. Brushing Too Hard
Many people believe that brushing your teeth too hard will make them cleaner. However, brushing too hard can damage the outer layer of your teeth and cut your gums, exposing more vulnerable parts of your mouth to bacteria. In doing so, you might notice blood when you spit out after brushing. The best option is to brush gently and use a toothbrush with soft bristles.
One of the best ways to take care of your teeth is to work with a qualified dentist. Henderson Family Dentist provides patients of all ages with effective dental care. Contact us today to book your appointment.
