Habits that Damage Teeth
A beautiful, healthy smile should be treated as the treasure it is. Unfortunately people often use their teeth as tools to open items or chew on hard materials like ice or pens. Though this behavior may go unpunished most of the time, little by little the teeth weaken and wear away often with chipping. Here is a list of some of the more common ways to damage your teeth through bad habits:
- Chewing on ice
may cause the chipping or cracking of the teeth, but it may also cause toothache by irritating the soft tissue inside the tooth. The best you can do is to avoid chewing on ice altogether, but if you cannot resist the urge to take some ice in your mouth, take only a tiny bit and let it melt, never chew on it.
- Teeth grinding
is an unhealthy, though most often unconscious habit. Commonly caused by stress and sleeping habits, this can also be a sign of your upper and lower jaws being out of their ideal alignment. Most people are unaware they are doing it however some visual signs are front teeth chipping are looking shorter or uneven. This can be helped by wearing a night guard or seeing a dentist with advanced training in extreme grinding (bruxing.)
- Tongue piercings
are popular, especially among teenagers. Trendiness however, does not exclude the risks of potential damages caused by piercings (both tongue and lip), such as: bacterial infections, sores, gum damage, tooth cracking. If you plan on wearing a tongue/lip piercing, make sure you have the teeth checked regularly for cracks, don’t flick the stud against the teeth and be very careful not to bite down on it.
- Opening cans, bottles, plastic wrapping with the teeth
is never a good idea, no matter how handy or quick it may seem at the time. Chipping, cracking and breaking are among the greatest risks. It’s obvious but please find another tool for these situations!
- Continuous snacking
leaves a significant amount of food particles in-between your teeth, thus contributing to enamel erosion, tooth decay and gum infections. Try cutting back on the number of snacks and cultivate the habit of swishing your mouth with clear water after each snack.
- Chewing on nails and pencils
are habits that are often difficult to get rid of, because are done during hard concentration. Invariably, they sooner or later lead to tooth-damage. If you find yourself in the impossibility of terminating these habits, start chewing sugarless gum every time you sit down to study or work. This will not only keep you save from tooth cracking, but it will also stimulate saliva production, which your teeth will benefit from.
- Binge eating
is a double-sided danger to your teeth. On one side, the fairly great amount of sweets that pass through the mouth leave much of the sugar they contain on your teeth, leading to enamel erosion and cavities. On the other side, the high acidic content of the vomit systematically weakens and erodes the teeth. If you suffer from binge eating, seek the advice and help of a specialist in treating the disorder.
In order to avoid tooth damage to your teeth, try to develop behavioral awareness. Be open with your dentist and talk about habits that are potentially damaging to your oral health. Look after your teeth and they will help look after you.