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During your developmental years, you have already learned how to take care of your oral health. You brush your teeth at least twice a day, practice regular flossing, and even visit your local dentist twice a year. You probably think that maintaining these oral health habits is all you need to ensure you maintain your smile. Unfortunately, it takes so much more than just knowing the basics. What if you’re doing things that might be ruining your teeth, even when you don’t know it?
In this article, we will share five habits that may be putting your teeth at risk of damages:
1. Teeth-Grinding
Clenching your jaw and grinding your teeth (bruxism) may be something that you can’t control because it often happens when you’re sleeping. Or you may be doing it without realizing it. The problem is it can cause serious damages to your teeth as it can wear both your teeth and gums. If you want to stop this habit, you can always visit your local dentist in Waterford to help you overcome this condition before your oral health worsens.
2. Smoking
Over the years, you may have been told about this countless times, but there’s no harm in reminding you again. Remember that smoking cigarettes and cigars or chewing tobacco is detrimental to your oral health. Some of the obvious effects are bad breath, teeth stains, and tooth decay. However, keep in mind that it can also cause gum disease and oral cancer. These should be more than enough reasons to quit the bad habit!
3. Eating Too Much Sugar
From the time you started eating solid food, you have learned that chocolates, cakes, candies, and other sugary treats are the biggest culprit behind tooth decay. While you may have already given up these obvious junk foods, you might not know that your favorite drinks, “healthy” dried fruits, and even your chewable gummy vitamins, contain sugar and lots of them. This could harbor bacteria in your mouth, and when they turn your mouth acidic, cavities may form.
4. Biting Hard Food (and Objects)
You may have formed the habit of chewing ice cubes, biting your pen or pencil, or grinding hard candies all the time. While these habits are seemingly harmless, they could actually cause a lot of damage to your teeth over time. You might not notice because the effects are not instant, but when your dentist tells you there are thin cracks on your teeth, you might realize that these habits are probably behind it!
5. Brushing Your Teeth the Wrong Way
Yes, that’s right––there is a right way to brush your teeth, and unfortunately several wrong ways to do it as well. When you are too aggressive with your brushing, you damage your gums and even wear down your teeth. When you often notice blood in your spit, one of the possible causes is brushing too hard.
Another wrong way of brushing is when you’re being too light-handed that you barely touch the surface of your teeth. You may also be skipping some parts of your mouth and not reaching some areas that you don’t thoroughly clean your teeth and leave harmful food bits and bacteria behind.
Conclusion
When you’re not careful with the way you treat your gums and teeth, you are at risk of developing oral health problems in the long run. Teeth grinding, smoking, eating too much sugar, chewing on hard objects, and brushing your teeth the wrong way may already be causing damage to your teeth that you are not aware of. By taking note of the bad habits mentioned above, you can start taking preventative measures to ensure your teeth remain healthy for as long as possible!
For any oral health concern, Dental House is here to provide you with expert dental care. Whether you are in need of dentures in Waterford, oral surgery, or preventive dentistry, our dentists will help you achieve and maintain healthy teeth and gums. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help!
