Your oral health care routine is spot on: You brush twice a day, you floss at least once a day, and you maintain regular visits to our dental office in Woodbury. So why are you still at risk for tooth damage?
Many of us have some dangerous dental habits that could lead to serious damage. We’d like to talk about the top five habits you should work on breaking to keep your mouth as healthy as possible.
- Lay off the ice! Once you’ve finished quenching your thirst with an ice-cold beverage, do you crunch on the leftover ice cubes? Don’t! The hard texture of the frozen delights can cause tiny tooth fractures and even create cracks in the enamel. Down the road, these tiny cracks may lead to big problems.
- Don’t use teeth as tools! We’ve all done it. Instead of grabbing a pair of scissors to open pesky packaging, we tear it open with our teeth. This isn’t what teeth are made for and this habit could lead to serious damage including broken teeth, chipped enamel, and weakened structure. Don’t use your teeth, grab the proper tool instead.
- Brushing shouldn’t cause you to break a sweat! One of the most common misconceptions is that the harder you brush, the more effective it is. However, if you brush hard, you could actually cause damage. Brushing should be done gently with a soft bristled brush for a minimum of two minutes. And no sweating allowed!
- Keep pens away from your chompers! If you visit any office or school, a common sight is a parked pen or pencil resting between teeth. This places an abnormal amount of pressure on the teeth and can cause shifting, cracking, or damage to existing dental restorations
- Fingers don’t belong in the mouth! A nervous habit of many is to chew on fingernails. Not only can this habit lead to unsightly hands, it can also cause major tooth damage. Habitual nail biting can result in shifting, cracking, or even breaking. Keep fingers away from your mouth!
Working to break these habits isn’t easy, but everyone at our Woodbury dental office is here to help. Talk to us about some of the habits that seem particularly hard to break. Dr. John Haag and our team are full of useful information and would love to pass it on.
Serving patients from Woodbury, Oakdale, Lake Elmo, Cottage Grove, Stillwater, Maplewood, Hudson and nearby communities.