You’ve all heard the cliche sayings when it comes to taking care of your teeth.
- Don’t eat a lot of sweets
- Don’t Smoke
- Don’t Drink Soda
However there may be a few habits you might not know about that can damage your teeth as severe as what was listed above.
Below are some of the habits that are bad for your teeth that may surprise you.
1. Chewing On Ice – We’ve all been there, you go to a restaurant and order a fountain drink and it comes with nice perfect ice cubes to make your drink extra cold. Before you finish your meal, your drink is finished as the server served you the drinks 10-15 minutes before the meal actually arrived. You have two options, if your lucky and it’s free refills you go ask for another one, if a refill costs you $3.99 you rather just chew on the ice cubes to get a bit of liquid down that throat to wash all that food down. You might think you’re playing it smart but you could actually be ruining your teeth. Munching on hard, frozen ice cubes can chip or even crack your teeth. If you’re lucky and your teeth are still perfect after your ice chewing escapade, a long nasty toothache may follow. Next time the urge to chew on ice cube arises, just remember that you might be saving $3.99 now but you might be losing $200+ dollars to fix that chip tooth later.
2. Tongue Piercings – A lot of the younger generation is trying to express their individuality whether it be getting tattoos and/or piercings. Although tongue and lip piercings may look cool, you are on a path to bad oral health. The mouth is one of the dirtiest places in the human body, and having piercings around the mouth area raises the risk of infections and sores. They say you should consult your doctor when you want to go on a vigourous fitness regime, but you should also consult your dentist when you are thinking about tongue/lip piercings.
3. Opening Stuff With Your Teeth – Teeth were made for us as a tool to use but the only thing you should use your teeth for as a tool is for eating. You might think it’s convenient or looks cool opening beer bottles with your teeth but this is one of the easiest ways to get a chip or crack tooth. Play it smart and use bottle openers.
4. Drinking Fruit Juice – Due to many people’s lives moving a mile a minute, you don’t have time to peel an orange or to eat an apple and you would rather prefer opening a quick bottle of fruit juice. Yes, fruit juices are loaded with the nutrients your body needs but they also contain a huge amount of sugar. Juice can sometimes have as much if not more sugar than sodas. If you have to drink fruit juices, it is suggested you look for fruit juices that have the label “no sugar added” or you could dilute the sugar content by mixing the juice with some water.
5. Bedtime Bottles – You might think it’s convenient by giving your baby a bottle before you go to bed so you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to feed them, but you’re actually giving your baby an early path to tooth decay. We all know babies sleep for many hours during a 24 hour day and they may fall asleep with the bottle still in their mouth. If the bottle is still in the baby’s mouth when they’re asleep, they are being bathed with sugars overnight damaging gums and their baby teeth. It’s best to give a bottle to a baby only when you’re around.
6. Chewing Pencils – The age old student habit, where one chews a pencil while they’re thinking when they’re either finishing an assignment or writing an exam. It might spark your brain or you could also be slowly chipping and cracking your teeth. The best advice for someone who needs to chew on something is to chew on sugar free gum.
Although your dentist wants to help you have long, lasting, healthy teeth, you have to do your part and avoid habits that could damage your teeth in the long term.