Bad Oral Habits

10 Bad Oral Habits You Need to Break

Do you have a big job interview or date coming up and want to have whiter teeth? Do you want to keep your teeth for longer and avoid costly dental work? Do you want a perfect smile to complete your look? If you have been searching for an effective smile solution, you might just need to correct a few bad oral habits you have developed. Your mouth is a precarious place. A lack of care for your mouth even a couple days a week can have drastic impacts on your teeth and gums. Tooth decay, gum disease, and the resulting tooth loss and costly dental work is pretty much everyone’s worst nightmare. Taking care of your mouth on an every day basis should be part of your daily routine but often oral hygiene gets forgotten.

Here are 10 oral habits you need to break.

Oral Habits

  1. Thumb sucking: For most of us, this isn’t an issue anymore. As we grow up, we tend not to suck our thumbs like we did as children (or at least I hope so). However, for parents with small children, it’s important to note that thumb sucking can have devastating effects on your child’s mouth. Tooth and jaw structure damage can ultimately result after thumb sucking causes teeth to misalign.
  2. Lemons: If you suck on lemons, you may want to kick the habit. Lemons are very acidic and can corrode the enamel of your teeth. Enamel is the protective layer on the outside of your teeth and without it; you are more prone to cavities and disease.
  3. Brushing too hard: Many people strive to include oral hygiene into their daily routine but it’s important that you know how to properly brush your teeth. Brushing too hard can wear down enamel, heighten teeth sensitivity, and even increase your chance of developing cavities.
  4. Clenching and grinding: Clenching and grinding causes unnecessary wear and tear on your teeth. It is often the result of misaligned teeth or stress. If you cannot stop clenching and grinding, consult your dentist. They may be able to give you a simply night appliance to decrease clenching and grinding or they may even recommend a mouth rehabilitation.
  5. Ice: Do you love chewing on ice? Ice cubes may seem harmless because after all, they’re just frozen water. However, the cold temperature and hardness of ice cubes can cause damage to your teeth. Our teeth are designed to crush through things and not against things.
  6. Your teeth aren’t tools: Our teeth are designed to do three things: chew, assist speech, and help us look better when we smile. People tend to use teeth to help them with other tasks such as opening packages. However, this type of use can cause damage to your teeth including cracking.
  7. Biting objects: Constantly biting on an item that is not food is causing more damage to your teeth than you think. Constant force on something that isn’t food can cause shifting or cracking.
  8. Nail Biting: Biting your nails regularly can cause teeth to shift or enamel to splinter.
  9. Soda: Everyone knows the effects of soda on the body. Carbonated drinks tend to be very bad on your teeth as well. These types of drinks usually contain a high level of acidity, which can break down your tooth enamel.
  10. Toothpick use: Food stuck between teeth can be a very annoying feeling and many of us turn to a toothpick to help relieve the annoyance. However, be careful not to hurt your gum tissue when you go to remove the stubborn food particles.