These Habits Can Wreck Your Teeth!

FitnessDecember 13, 2017

When taking good care of your oral health, you are required to refrain from certain habits you may have become accustomed to. You must get into the habit of brushing and flossing your teeth every day. You should also visit your dentist twice a year for checkups. Even if you have been following this routine, you still do not have the freedom to indulge in these habits as they can prove harmful for your teeth.

If you value your teeth, please refrain from these harmful habits:

“Every tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond.” —Miguel de Cervantes

Chewing On Ice

Ice is natural and is totally sugar-free. Therefore, you may have the illusion that ice is harmless for your health. However trying to chew on frozen cubes can not just chip your teeth but also crack them. Regular toothaches may follow if your mindless chewing irritates the soft tissue inside the tooth. You will have difficulties having hot and cold foods because of regular jabs of pain that won’t go away. Therefore, it is advisable to chew on some sugarless gum instead of ice cubes the next time you feel the urge.

Failure to Use Mouthguard When doing Sports

If you are a fan of contact sports, you should not get in the game without a mouthguard. This is just a piece of molded plastic that can protect the upper row of teeth. Without a mouthguard, your teeth could be chipped or knocked when the action gets rough. You can purchase mouth guards from a store or have one custom-designed by your dentist.

Failure to Protect Your Baby

Protecting your baby should be one of your objectives even when the baby is in a crib. Giving your baby a bottle of juice, milk, or formula during bedtime is a mistake that you should avoid.It can put the teeth of the baby on the path to decay. The baby may become accustomed to falling asleep with the bottle in the mouth, and his or her teeth will be bathing in sugars overnight. You are advised not to keep bottles in the crib during bedtime.

Piercing Your Tongue

Tongue piercings are trendy, and many individuals have them. What they fail to realize is that they could bite down on the metal stud and crack a tooth. Lip piercings are no different; when the metal stops against the gums, it can cause gum damage that can result in tooth loss. The mouth is also the home of many bacteria, and piercings can increase the risks of infections. Tongue piercings also make the individual susceptible to the risk of accidentally piercing a blood vessel leading to severe bleeding. It is always advisable to have a discussion on the health risks with your dentist before indulging in such an activity.

Grinding Your Teeth

Bruxism or grinding your teeth over a prolonged period will wear your teeth out. The habit is mostly caused by stress and poor sleeping habits. Although teeth grinding is difficult to control,you can reduce the pain by avoiding hard foods during the day. It will also help if you can wear a mouthguard when you are sleeping at night because it can prevent the damage caused by bruxism.

Taking Carbonated Soda

Candy is not the only culprit when it comes to added sugar. Carbonated soda has approximately 11 teaspoons of sugar per serving. It also contains phosphoric and citric acids, which are harmful to tooth enamel. Diet soda has less sugar, but this is replaced by artificial sweeteners and, therefore, has more acids.

“Be true to your teeth and they won’t be false to you.”—Soupy Sales

These are some of the harmful habits that can wreck your teeth. Your dentist can only advise you against developing such habits, but the onus will be upon you to follow the advice appropriately.