02 Aug 6 Habits That Are Bad for Your Teeth

If you are wondering why your teeth are undergoing some changes, then you might want to question all of your habits and actions because some of them might be bad for your teeth. Enamel erosion, cavities and stained teeth are not just the result of poor oral hygiene, sometimes these dental problems can be caused by other, seemingly harmless things.

Over brushing your teeth

Brushing your teeth is a crucial thing for keeping them healthy, but what happens when you over-brush your teeth? Don’t be deceived by the fact that our teeth are  made out of the hardest materials in our body – they can be worn off. By brushing your teeth hard, using a brush with hard bristles and also brushing too often can damage the enamel of your teeth.

Solutions:

Buy a soft brush and avoid brushing your teeth more than 3 times a day. Also, make sure that you don’t brush them too vigorously.

Drinking highly acidic drinks

You must be familiar with the fact that acidic structures can harm your teeth, but have you ever thought of the fact that acidic drinks can also harm your teeth? Most of you think that chewing acidic food is harming your teeth more than drinking acidic drinks because these substances spend more time in your oral cavity. It is completely wrong to say that drinks harm your teeth less than food. Carbonated drinks, soft drinks, fresh fruit drinks, wine, tea and coffee are the worst enemies of white, shiny teeth. You should be very careful when consuming these, as their ingredients will cause acid erosion (the destruction of the enamel caused by acids).

Solutions:

What you could do in order to prevent this from happening is to try and avoid all these, but if you are a stickler to your habits, then you might try mouth washing. Rinsing your mouth with a mouthwash or pure water after consuming highly acidic drinks could help in preventing  these sorts of problems. Another solution is to use a straw when drinking beverages with high acid content.

Teeth grinding

Teeth grinding is a bad habit that you should definitely get rid of as soon as you can. Not only that it will cause you headaches and sore jaw bones, but it will also cause some horrible dental problems such as periodontitis. People who are under a lot of stress tend to do this more often, and some of them even do it while sleeping. This  sometimes may be too much pressure for your teeth to bare, so you might end up with fractures and cracks on your teeth.

Solutions:

Simply avoid teeth grinding, and if you notice yourself doing this during the night, then you should probably acquire mouth guards from your dentist – this will considerably lessen the pressure that you put on your teeth.

Taking medications

Taking medications regularly can damage your teeth severely. This is happening because many of the medications can cause a dry mouth which can further cause gum diseases and enamel erosion. You need your mouth moisturised with saliva in order to prevent your gums and teeth from becoming too vulnerable.  

Solutions:

If you have to deal with some kind of serious illness, then there is not much you can do, but visit your dentist regularly. On the other hand, if you prefer to take an aspirin instead of allowing your body to fight a minor headache naturally, then you might want to reconsider this. Even not so strong medications such as aspirin can damage your teeth over time.

Swimming

Physical activity is always a good thing – it will ameliorate the quality of your life as it has a good influence on both your physical and mental health. What you might be missing out here is that swimming in chlorinated pools can damage your skin, eyes and also your teeth.

Solutions:

The only solution other than avoiding swimming in public pools is to try and prevent pool water from entering your mouth.

Piercings

Having piercings inside your mouth (including cheek and lip piercings) can also be damaging for your teeth. This mostly happens to people who like to play with the piercings that are inside their mouth. This can lead to teeth cracks, gum injures and other oral problems.

Solutions:

If you wish to keep your piercings and still have healthy teeth, you should choose piercings made out of plastic and try to find another thing to do when you are nervous or bored apart from playing with them.