There are certain obvious habits and lifestyle choices which everybody knows can be harmful to teeth. Eating sweets, drinking too many sugary drinks, not bothering to floss and so on – all examples of the kinds of bad habits the vast majority of people are aware of.
But at the same time, there are also plenty of other bad habits that most do not realise are harmful to their oral health. Now more than ever, people tend to take more proactive care of their personal oral health and hygiene than ever before. Whether it’s using the best electric toothbrush recommended by dentists or the best tooth whitening kits for sensitive teeth, oral health isn’t something the masses overlook as unimportant.
Nevertheless, research suggests that for millions of adults of all ages, it could be highly beneficial to take a look at a few everyday habits and perhaps make efforts to knock them on the head.
So with this in mind, what follows is a brief roundup of just a few common everyday habits that can be surprisingly terrible for your teeth:
Thumb Sucking
Of course, this particular habit applies more to children and babies than it does to adults. Though at the same time, there are still plenty of adults who suck their thumbs more often than they’d care to admit. In the case of children, thumb sucking beyond the age of about 5 or 6 can be extremely harmful in terms of oral health. The reason being that as their permanent teeth begin to emerge, thumb sucking can lead to the teeth becoming misaligned, affecting the very structure of the teeth and the jaw itself. As for adults, the only real danger with thumb-sucking is the way in which the thumb itself probably isn’t as clean and hygienic as it could be!
Suck a Lemon?
For some people, standard sweets just don’t get the job done right and there’s nothing more refreshing than sucking on a lemon wedge. But while lemons may be packed with vitamins and plenty of other good stuff, they can also be seriously harmful to teeth. Why? Well, quite simply because they also happen to pack a pretty heavy and concentrated dose of acid – something that doesn’t bode well with the strength and health of your teeth in general. The more you can protect your teeth from acids, the better – precisely why sinking them directly into a lemon isn’t exactly the best thing for them.
Grinding and Clenching
It’s not quite as easy to stop grinding and clenching your teeth as it sounds – the reason being that you might not even know you are doing it. If you’ve detected that you’re clenching and grinding during the day, you can usually take care of the problem by chewing gum as often as possible. If on the other hand you suspect or know you are grinding throughout the night, the solution could lie in a simple mouthpiece to protect your teeth. Over time, grinding and clenching can and will lead to your teeth literally being ground away to such a point where they may become painful or damaged irreparably.
Brushing with Gusto
It’s painfully ironic – you put as much effort as possible into giving your teeth a serious brush, only to come out harming them rather than helping them. When you brush your teeth too hard, you increase the risk of damaging the enamel which can lead to sensitivity, discoloration and even tooth decay. So whether it’s using a brush that’s clearly too stiff or putting far too much elbow grease into the process, you need to make sure you’re not brushing excessively hard.
Teeth as a Tool
Dentists also routinely remind patients that while their teeth may be extremely useful when it comes to eating, this is really the only instance in which they should be used as a tool. From opening beer bottles to taking the tags off new items of clothing and right through to ripping bits of tape off the roll, every single time you use your teeth for a purpose for which they were not intended, you are fundamentally putting them at risk. Just because they are technically strong enough to do something doesn’t mean it is something they should be doing or that it is a good idea to do it. Think about what your teeth were actually designed by nature for and avoid using them for anything else.
Chomping Ice Cubes
Another wonderfully refreshing habit which also happens to be extremely dangerous when it comes to oral health. As far as dentists are concerned, chomping down on ice cubes is an extremely inadvisable habit that should be avoided at all costs. It’s all to do with the way in which the combination of extreme cold and the hard surface of the ice cube come together to form a powerful weapon against the strength and integrity of your teeth. As far as dentists are concerned, the fact that the average blender needs to be fitted with special blades to deal with ice cubes should say all that needs to be said about whether or not it is a good idea to chew on them!
Chewing Pens and Glasses
One of the most common of all habits when it comes to potentially dangerous habits for teeth is that of chewing on pens, pencils and the arms of eyeglasses. Chances are, you probably think that as these objects are not exactly as hard as steel and that as you’re not biting down on them too hard, it can’t possibly be doing you much harm. In reality however, not only are you probably biting down a lot harder than you realise, but given the fact that these objects are not foods, they are not the kinds of things your teeth were designed to deal with. And if your teeth were not designed to deal with them, chances are they could be doing you more harm than you realise.
Nail Biting
Last but not least, nail biting is a pretty unpleasant habit in its own right and certainly isn’t what you would call hygienic. But along with the inevitability of transferring millions of germs and bacteria into your mouth, biting nails can also cause teeth to move out of place, crack, chip or even shatter under the pressure. So if you know you’ve been biting your nails too long and have been looking for motivation to quit, now you have it!
