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Practicing good oral hygiene means more than preventing tooth decay, it is also protecting your enamel, taking care of your gums and reducing the build-up of bacteria.
Here are seven bad habits that can damage teeth and how to correct them.
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1. Chew ice cream:
Chewing on ice can crack and break teeth. The damage is irreversible and, depending on the severity of the crack or fracture, it may require a filling or a composite crown, or complete loss of teeth, says Michaela Tosi, dentist in Henderson, Nevada.
Tozi adds that a lot of people chew ice cream because they feel the need to grind, but it is a bad habit, and instead of chewing ice cream, try snacking on crunchy foods, such as apples, carrots or popcorn, and sugarless gum can also be chewed to replace oral attachment of chewing ice.
2. Brush your teeth hard:
Brushing is one of the most important ways to maintain oral health, but brushing too hard can damage your teeth and gums, says Tozi.
Abrupt brushing can erode the protective layer of your teeth called enamel, which can lead to increased sensitivity and pain.
Heavy brushing can also recede the gums or pull them away from the teeth. This exposes the roots of the teeth, which can also lead to tenderness and increase the risk of infection.
There’s no way to restore enamel or gums from lost teeth, Tozi says, although veneers can help protect the surface of the teeth.
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Tuzzi recommends using an electric toothbrush with a pressure sensor that will beep if you press too hard and switching to a soft bristle toothbrush.
3. Grinding of teeth:
A lot of people cringe while sleeping and don’t realize they are, says Alice Bogossian, dentist in Park Ridge, Ill. And spokesperson for the American Dental Association.
Grinding teeth can lead to erosion and increase the risk of tooth decay and fractures. Signs that may indicate squeaking at night include: waking up with a pain in the jaw or a mild headache and lesions in the cheeks from the inside, which may indicate biting while you sleep.
To reduce damage, wear a dental implant that protects your teeth at night, says Boghossian. This is a device that is placed over the teeth on one side of the jawbone and provides a protective barrier between the teeth.
Teeth grinding is also associated with stress and is sometimes exacerbated by strenuous exercise such as weight lifting which can put pressure on the jaw.
To stop teeth grinding, Bogossian recommends practicing relaxation techniques such as meditation or taking a hot bath before bed, applying a hot towel to the face to prevent the muscles from contracting, and massaging the skin. jaw to relax the muscles.
4. Bite your nails:
Toozy says biting your nails can break a tooth and cause it to crack. These fractures can be repaired by compound bonding, which involves placing resin in the fractures to repair them. However, if the habit persists, the compound bond may break and crack.
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Tozzi notes that a manicure can help reduce the urge to bite your nails. Chewing sugarless gum or mint can also prevent chewing something.
5. Drink without a straw:
Bogossian says drinking drinks without a straw can damage teeth. Bogossian explains that sugary drinks such as soda and lemon juice or sports drinks with added sugar can be particularly harmful to the teeth. The sugar in drinks feeds the bacteria that cause cavities.
Other drinks that can damage teeth include high carbon or acidic drinks such as orange juice or lemon water.
High levels of acid erode tooth enamel, which increases the risk of tooth decay.
Wine and coffee can also make teeth yellow or brown, and using a straw can reduce the damage from consuming these drinks, as they redirect liquid to the back of the mouth and away from the teeth. .
6. Use of teeth as tools:
Using the teeth to open a bag of chips or remove a pen cap can damage your teeth by cutting or breaking them.
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“Your teeth are supposed to chew your food so that you have good digestion,” says Bogossian. “Teeth are not tools.”
“Use scissors if you need to open a package. If you don’t have scissors, you can use wrenches or a nail clipper,” Touzi adds.
7. Smoking:
Boghossian says that smoking not only harms your overall health, but your teeth as well. And people who smoke are more likely to develop bacterial plaques that cause gum disease. Smoking also reduces blood flow to the gums, which prevents the mouth from healing.
In addition to increasing the risk of disease, smoking can also cause bad breath and stain teeth.
Source: Business Insider
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