Stop what you are doing! Did you know that some of your bad habits (which you might even be doing right now) could be ruining your dental health?
Here’s a few bad habits that you should break to help improve your oral health:
- Eating: Be careful what you put into your body. Sugary foods and drinks, like sports drinks, soda, candy, and more, could all contribute to tooth decay. In addition, eating habits like snacking may leave food stuck in your teeth frequently and for long periods of time.
- Teeth Grinding: People who grind their teeth often do it in their sleep. It is often caused by stress and may be difficult to control. Wearing a mouth guard is a good way to combat this problem.
- Using your Teeth to Open Things: While finding scissors to open an item seems like a waste of your time, it actually is worth the extra effort. Using your teeth to open anything form ketchup packets to a bottle of water, can result in chipped and cracked teeth.
- Chewing on a Pen or Pencil: This is another bad habit we often do without even noticing. Again, this is a habit that can lead to tooth chips and cracks.
- Biting your Nails: Nail biting is one of the most common habits that affects your teeth. It can cause the roots of your teeth to become weaker and also may result in tooth gaps. It can also lead to TMJ and gingivitis problems.
- Smoking: You have heard it time and time again—cigarettes are bad for you. But, seriously, they are. All kind of tobacco products can cause cancer of the mouth, lips, and tongue.
- Chewing Ice: While ice seems like a nice snack, crunching down on hard ice cubes and chip or crack your teeth. The chomping also irritates the tissue inside of the tooth, which could cause pain.
All of these bad habits can be stopped! In many cases, chewing gum is a good solution to some of these compulsive behaviors. If you are interested in learning more about improving your health, schedule an appointment at South Springs Dental Group and speak to our experienced staff.