You use your teeth every time you relish the mouth-watering dishes or talk with your friends. Teeth are an integral part of your overall well-being. It helps you chew the food properly, speak properly and give proper shape to your face. You brush and floss your teeth to keep them intact. However, there are still some bad habits that you might be following which can affect your pearly whites. Let’s know in detail the top habits that can damage your teeth and affect your smile.
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Grinding teeth – Teeth grinding, also called bruxism, can negatively impact your teeth. It would not be an issue if you have the habit of mild teeth grinding in the daytime. But chronic teeth grinding at night can cause complications if not treated timely. It can result in excessive wear of the enamel, chipped teeth, headaches, earaches, and more. Wearing a nightguard helps a lot when it comes to preventing the problem of bruxism. It will act as a cushion against grinding forces. You may also need additional treatment to stop this habit depending upon the cause of teeth grinding.
Chewing on Ice or Hard objects – Chewing on ice can erode your teeth' enamel. With this erosion, your teeth become more susceptible to decay. It also results in tooth sensitivity, and your teeth may even look yellow. The main culprit behind all these things is chewing on ice, fingernails, or other hard objects. It is advisable not to put any object in your mouth. It may introduce germs or injure the soft tissues of your mouth.
Consuming starchy food items – Your mouth needs sugars and starches for the bacteria to feed on carbohydrates. The bacteria in your mouth release acids that have the power to leach minerals from the tooth enamel. Frequent acid attacks are one of the major causes of tooth decay. As the situation worsens, tooth decay forms the hole in the tooth, which results in giving rise to the cavity.
Starchy food items like potato chips contain carbohydrates that get stuck in the teeth. But people keep on eating this as a snacking item the most. You can go to eat a scoop of ice cream rather than potato chips. Why? It does not take much time to eat ice cream, and it rinses off the teeth easily.
Not wearing a mouthguard while playing sports – If you love to play sports, it becomes more important to wear a mouthguard while playing sport or doing any physical activity. It was found that innumerable dental injuries occur during the games of basketball and baseball, where the players are mostly seen not wearing mouthguards. The dental injuries include chipped teeth, fractured teeth, or broken jaw. You may have to get a dental implant to treat the same if the injury is severe or you need replacement teeth. You can search “dental implants near me” to find out the dentist near you.
Wear a mouth guard to steer clear of these injuries. It becomes especially important if you have braces as an injury can damage the wires of your braces, and you may end up facing extensive trauma to your mouth.
Drinking energy drinks or soft drinks – It is safe to drink soda in moderation but do not drink it too much as it is one of the worst drinks for your teeth, containing a large amount of sugar. Soda contains citric acid, which can cause your teeth to erode. Sugar and acid fuel the process of tooth decay. You may be thinking of drinking diet soda. But it is still not a good option. Moreover, there was a study on enamel dissolution that found that there is no difference between beverages of the regular and diet versions of the same brand. Out of everything in the world, the best beverage is to drink plain water. Thus, avoid drinking energy drinks or soft drinks.
Brushing your teeth immediately after eating something acidic – The timing of brushing your teeth matters whenever you eat something acidic. Do not immediately brush your teeth after eating. Brush your teeth before having breakfast, morning coffee, or something acidic. If you feel like brushing after consuming the food items, wait for an hour or so to brush again.
To sum it up!
Start taking small steps to get rid of bad habits and gain good ones in order to keep your teeth healthy. Furthermore, take out some time twice a year to go for a regular dental checkup. You will receive your full oral examination along with teeth cleaning and can know about the tooth problems at an early stage. It is time to stop practicing these damaging habits and start making your teeth and smile healthier than ever before.