Regular tooth brushing and flossing is not enough to keep your teeth healthy and looking great. Sometimes small daily habits can ruin your teeth without you knowing it. Some habits leave negative effect immediately (breaking of the teeth) and some destroy the teeth slowly.
To maintain your dental health, make sure that you get rid of these bad habits that can harm your teeth:
Brushing your teeth using a lot of pressure
Maybe you think that if you brush your teeth too hard you will clean them thoroughly, but the truth is that the pressure can only harm your teeth. Besides, the strong brushing and using a brush with hard bristles will destroy the tooth enamel, your gums can get inflamed and irritated and it can increase the sensitivity of your teeth.
Eating ice or hard candy
Eating ice often causes tooth pain and there is a reason for it. The pain should warn you that you are doing something harmful that can hurt your teeth. The pressure that you use to bite into hard objects damages the outer protective layer of the teeth and often leads to breaking of small pieces from the tips of the teeth too. Also it is not recommended to put ice directly in your mouth because of the extremely low temperature.
Using your teeth as scissors
Many people have this bad habit that harms the teeth, they use their teeth for ripping a piece of duct tape, opening a chocolate bar, cutting a peace of thread etc. Even if it doesn’t make any visible damage to the teeth, these procedures can cause tiny cracks on the surface of the teeth. Frequent use of your teeth as a tool can lead to a tooth damage. Don’t be lazy and go look for a scissors.
Nibbling pencils and pens
You start to work on something or you study and you unconsciously put the tip of the pen or pencil in your mouth. If you notice that you have such bad habit that can harm your teeth, just pay attention to it and try to avoid it because it can cause damage to the tooth enamel, and can crack your teeth. Need an extra cause to quit the habit? Just think how much bacteria and germs are on the surface of the object that you put it in your mouth.
Eating a lemon
Eating a lemon slice is kind of useful because this fruit is an amazing source of vitamins, but on the other hand, if you do it regularly, it’s very harmful to your teeth. The acidity of the lemon leads to erosion of the tooth enamel and as a result, the surface of the teeth begins to crumble. The lemon juice or the orange juice should stay in your mouth as little as possible. It is best to drink it with a straw.
Washing your teeth immediately before and after eating highly acidic meals
You should never wash your teeth within 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after consumption of foods with high acidity levels (juice, wine, fruits, pickles, strawberry jam, energy drinks etc). If you wash your teeth before eating them, you will wash away the saliva that protects the enamel from acids. If you wash your teeth immediately after eating such foods, it can damage them and increase their sensitivity, because acids soften the tooth enamel.
Aggressive use of toothpicks
Toothpicks are great for removing food residue from the narrow spaces between your teeth. But if used too aggressively, not only it can damage your gums, but it can also cause tooth cracking or breaking. Be gentle with the toothpicks and don’t chew them for entertainment.
Sucking the thumb
This bad habit that can harm the teeth is more child related because they are the ones that mostly do it. The thumb-sucking habit is bad in many aspects, but the teeth suffer from it the most. This habit has the worst effects if the sucking continues after the permanent teeth emerge, as it leads to permanent changes in the structure of the teeth, and also can change the position of the teeth in the mouth.
Clenching the teeth
Bruxism or clenching the teeth can wear off the teeth and also cause excessive sensitivity, and even tooth cracking and breaking. Moreover, this unconscious habit can lead to headache, ear pain and jaw pain. Stress, anxiety and depression are just couple of reasons for bruxism.
