If you have never suffered a sour, (or is it sweet) tooth you can never appreciate the need for properly taking care of your mouth. Just a minute here, why is it called a sweet tooth yet the pain accompanying this sweetness is horrible? Anyway, that is for the English to answer. The point I want to stress here is that there are so many bad habits that we unconsciously engage in that damage our teeth. Find out where you belong in this list.
- It is only sugar that destroys the teeth but ice-cubes are natural and sugar-free so there is no harm in chomping them. You can crack or chip off your teeth by munching on ice blocks. This can irritate the soft tissue so that hot or cold foods trigger shot, sharp pain or toothache. Chew some sugarless gum instead when the urge comes.
- This applies to men who love contact sports like hockey, football etc. Remember to wear a mouth-guard and do not get in the game without one. When the action gets rough your teeth could be chipped or knocked out altogether.
- Do not think in terms of you alone. How about your baby? Do you often leave the bottle of formula, juice or milk in their mouth? Stop this habit because when the baby gets used to falling asleep with the bottle in their mouth, the teeth is bathed in sugar, creating room for bacteria and tooth decay. Keep that bottle out of the crib. Go to this website https://newstable.org/ in order to acquire additional information about dental care.
- It is trendy to pierce your tongue, but if you accidentally bite on the metal stud when you are excited, you can chip of your teeth. Of course when this happens you are not going to take it seriously until you begin feeling irritation months or years later. Metal rubbing against the gum can also lead to gum damage and disease. And did you know that your mouth is a natural receptacle for all manner of bacteria? The wound caused through piercing can cause terrible mouth infections.
- Are you a bruxist? What is this? It is simply grinding your teeth while you are asleep or when you are annoyed or stressed. Grinding might wear down your teeth causing damage and pain.
- Any kind of sugar will react with the sticky plaque that coat your teeth, so the danger does not lie in candy only, but also in the cough-drops and lozenges we often take. They are loaded with sugar. Just make sure you brush well after soothing your throat with a drop or a lozenge.
- So you think only hard candy is bad. How about gummy candy? Yes, they are not harmless because they also stick on the teeth leading to accumulation of sugar and acids. If you cannot live without candy, for Christ’s sake, take them during meal times when a lot of saliva is produced in the mouth. That will help dissolve the sugar.
- The soda you like taking regularly is a big culprit in aiding damage to your enamel. Apart from the sugar, soda also contains phosphoric and citric acids which erode the enamel. Diet soft drinks contain no sugar but they are richer in other acids.
- We all do it all the times – opening stuff with our teeth. It is easy, quick and convenient but your teeth are not tools.
- You are too busy to sit down to a proper meal so you find it easier to snack in between schedules. Well, most of the junk you eat is starchy and rich in sugar, besides, snacking produces little saliva meaning bits of food remain in your mouth.
- Next, let’s read the other 10 bad habits in my next installment.
Alisia Goodwin is a freelance blogger and currently writes for Balmaindentist who provides root canal treatment in sydney and teeth whitening in sydney.