Bad Oral Habits

Bad Oral Habits

If you care about your oral health, then you may have already learned a few extra ways to keep your teeth strong and how to protect them. Daily brushing and flossing, for instance, are incredibly important. A healthy diet and regular dental visits can also help. But have you thought about the many seemingly small bad oral habits you could have, that could eventually lead to some major dental issues? If not, it can be important to realize how those daily habits you have developed could be impacting your dental health.

Do You Have the Bad Oral Habits of Chewing On Ice, or Bite Your Pencil or Nails?

Many people chew on ice or even the ends of their pens or pencils, particularly when stressed. Chewing on nails is another bad habit many people have picked up. Unfortunately, chewing on anything other than food or gum, can potentially lead to tooth damage. The harder the item the more likely it is to create issues. This is why ice, in particular, can lead o chipped or cracked teeth.

Chewing on Ice Cubes is one of the worst of the bad oral habits

Many of us chew on objects that harm our teeth such as ice cubes and pen caps. These habits cause microscopic fractures in tooth enamel. When your enamel is compromised by small fractures, bacteria collect on exposed dentin and attack your tooth’s inner structures. Biting down on hard objects such as ice or having tongue piercings also leads to tooth fractures.

Brushing Your Teeth Too Hard

Brushing hard is a bad oral habit that people think is good. Of course, they want to get their teeth clean. Unfortunately, all hard brushing does is cause harm. Unlike scrubbing dishes, brushing hard will not promote a cleaner mouth. In fact, brushing too hard can cause trauma to the teeth and recession of the gum line. You should brush your teeth softly in small, circular motions to thoroughly clean your teeth. Ask your dentist how to brush properly as most people have never really been shown how.

Drinking Acidic Beverages

Sipping a cola is a very bad oral habit. Acidic foods and drinks including sports drinks, citrus juice, coffee, tea, and soda contain acids and sugars that are bad for your teeth. Although enamel is the strongest substance in the human body, it can be damaged. Acid is capable of eroding it. We suggest that our patients consume these drinks in moderation and rinse their mouths with water afterward.

Do You Skip Flossing, or Only Brush Once a Day?

Brushing alone does not adequately clean your mouth. When it comes to dental hygiene, daily brushing and daily flossing is incredibly important. Combined these habits take very little time, yet most adults admit that they do not floss as regularly as they should. Flossing helps remove plaque and food debris in hard-to-reach places and in between the teeth. Plaque hardens into tartar within two days and tartar cannot be removed by brushing and flossing alone. To avoid tartar buildup, it is important that patients floss their teeth every day.

If you want to remove more plaque bacteria, before it can irritate your gum tissue or cause cavities, flossing should be part of your daily routine!

Do You Sip Coffee or Soda Throughout the Day?

While it can be tempting to keep a cup of coffee or glass of soda on hand, slowly drinking sweet or acidic drinks throughout the day can be incredibly damaging to teeth. This bad oral habit increases the frequency and length of time your teeth spend exposed to the substances. Extended sugar contact is bad for you teeth. That goes for drinking sports drinks too. Sports drinks are incredibly bad for your teeth. As an alternative, you might consider some dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has actually been shown to to prevent cavities.

Water is your best drink choice, but if you are going to have something sweet or acidic, try having it with a meal, when chewing healthier items can help to mitigate its effects. A healthy diet, in general, can help keep your smile healthy!

Not wearing your night guard

A mouth guard is prescribed by your dentist for a reason. Teeth grinding can be incredibly bad for your teeth. Grinding is a bad oral habit that you can’t consciously rid yourself of.

Using your teeth as tools

Bad oral habit of the first degree! Nervous habits caused from being stressed can also be hard on your teeth. Tooth grinding or clenching can severely damage teeth.

Is letting your dog lick your face a bad oral habit?

Swapping spit with a dog will give you a good share of dog germs. this is especially true if you don’t care for your dog’s dental care. The germs that dogs harbor in their mouths generally don’t harm humans. With the exception of rabies, germs that are harmful to dogs are harmless for humans. While we do share some common germs for bad breath and gum disease, all other germs have a tough time flourishing in the human mouth.

Keep Away From Bad Oral Habits and Protect Your Smile?

Preventive dentistry helps protect teeth and gums against cavities and other dental problems. You can schedule a preventive appointment with Dr. Fondriest by calling us at (847) 234-0517. We welcome patients from the North Shore area of Chicago and the surrounding communities.