Some undesirable habits and little activities may harm the health of our teeth. A lousy diet and a lack of attention to dental cleanliness may cause your smile to deteriorate over time. On the other hand, many lifestyle practices that are thought to improve your health have also been proven to cause harm to your teeth in unexpected ways.
Common Habits That Can Harm Your Teeth
There are a variety of contributing variables that result in poor oral health. The teeth are one of the most vital parts of our bodies, and if they get injured or diseased in any way, the pain that results from any of those scenarios would be pretty excruciating.
Therefore, to keep our teeth in the best possible condition, we need constantly make sure that we practice good oral hygiene consistently. In addition, we need to free ourselves of certain negative routines and alter specific actions we engage in regularly.
Check out these everyday habits that can harm your teeth health.
- Smoking Tobacco
Tobacco products are awful for your dental health. They stain your teeth, cause gum and periodontal disease, and can cause tooth decay and even loss of teeth. Products like tobacco products can also cause mouth, tongue, and lips cancer. Every area of your mouth is negatively affected by smoking and chewing tobacco.
- Too Much Pressure is Applied When Brushing
Brushing your teeth too vigorously may irritate the gums, contribute to gum recession, erode tooth enamel, and create dental sensitivity. Brushing your teeth too gently can have the opposite effect. If you want to avoid brushing too vigorously, always use a toothbrush with soft bristles and change it every three to four months.
- Opening Packages with Your Teeth
Teeth are not designed to tear open packages or bottles or to help you carry things when your arms are full. If you use your teeth for anything other than eating, you risk injuring them in various ways, including having your teeth chipped, fractured, or even damaging your jaw.
These injuries may be quite painful and can cause long-term damage to your oral health. Due to their convenience, using your teeth as instruments is not worth risking your oral health.
- Maintaining regular consumption of water with lemon throughout the day
Refreshing oneself by drinking water that has citrus fruits like lemons, limes, or oranges added to it is possible. Still, it is generally wise to consume liquids with fruit added to them all at once rather than sipping them intermittently throughout the day.
If the acid from citrus fruits is continually exposed to the teeth over a more extended period, it can potentially erode the enamel from the teeth.
- Chewing on Your Fingernails and Cuticles
Biting the nails is one of the most prevalent habits that can be discovered in our day and age, and it is also a practice that, in the long term, may be detrimental to the health of a person’s teeth.
It has the potential to damage the form of your teeth, and once it begins to affect your teeth, you will begin to experience excruciating pain. It is in your best interest to steer clear of such a poor practice if you want your teeth to remain healthy and robust.
- Heavy Drinking
Drinking alcohol causes the mouth to dry up, preventing saliva from wiping away germs, leading to poor smell, and increasing the likelihood of cavities forming in the teeth. In addition, alcohol is acidic, and as a result, it dissolves the enamel of teeth.
Either cut your daily alcohol consumption to one drink for women and no more than two for men or switch to carbonated sparkling water as a healthier alternative.
- Snacking Constantly Throughout the Day
Constantly eating throughout the day increases your chances of cavities. It is true when your snacks are sugary or starchy. Decay-inducing bacteria love to feast on these foods, and constant snacking means food is inside your mouth throughout the day, allowing the bacteria to attack your dental health.
It would be best to eat balanced meals to feel full longer, reducing the need for snacking. When you need to eat a snack, choose a low-sugar and fat food to reduce your likelihood of cavities. It is also good practice to floss after you eat anything that could get stuck in your teeth. Then, rinse your mouth.
- Overindulging in Sweet Foods and Drinks to an Unhealthy Extent
We all have a soft spot in our hearts for sweet treats and drinks, and there are moments when we can’t stop ourselves from indulging in them. Sugary meals and beverages may have a pleasant flavor, but they are pretty damaging to our teeth and cause them to deteriorate in a significant way.
If you consistently consume sugary foods and drinks, you risk causing damage to your teeth, which may lead to gum infection and toothache.
- Ice Chewing
Even while it is theoretically better for you to chew on ice rather than sweets, gum, or mints, the combination of the ice’s sharp edges and its freezing temperature might make your natural enamel susceptible to cracks, fractures, and hypersensitivity.
These behaviors do not often cause significant damage to a person’s smile. Reinforcing brittle teeth and restoring healthy tooth proportions may be accomplished using restorations such as dental crowns and porcelain veneers. Many behaviors seem good for you but cause unnecessary wear and strain on your smile.
The good news is that Emergency Dentist San Diego team of dentists can comprehensively examine your mouth to detect any possible problems and devise an individualized treatment strategy to repair any damage.
Get in touch with Emergency Dentists San Diego to schedule an appointment.
Vitamins and Minerals that are necessary for your Teeth
Did you know that eating well plays a significant role in maintaining your dental health? You must include the following nutritional building blocks in your diet since they are necessary for maintaining good oral health.
- Vitamin D
When exposed to sunshine, your body produces its vitamin D, but you may also get vitamin D from foods like fatty salmon, canned tuna, and portobello mushrooms. You might also seek meals and beverages fortified with vitamin D, such as cereal, milk, and orange juice.
- Potassium
Potassium, like vitamin D, may help boost the bone mineral density in your body. The potassium content in bananas is widely recognized but may also be found in other foods.
Lima beans, tomatoes, Swiss chard, sweet potatoes, avocados, and prunes are examples of different fruits and vegetables with significant mineral concentrations.
- Calcium
Calcium has long been recognized for its beneficial effects on dental health. Calcium contributes to the formation of bones and helps maintain their structural integrity throughout the body.
When present in the mouth, this mineral helps strengthen the jawbone and harden the enamel of your teeth.
Calcium may be abundant in dairy products, including milk, cheese, and yogurt. Broccoli, carrots, and salmon are all healthy options if you can’t tolerate dairy products.
- Vitamin C
Gums and the other soft tissue in the mouth get a substantial boost from vitamin C. You are undoubtedly well aware that citrus fruits contain a high vitamin C content, but you can also get vitamin C from potatoes and leafy greens.
- Vitamin A
Consume a lot of fish, egg yolks, and liver to ensure your gums and teeth remain healthy. Oranges and other orange foods, such as apricots, cantaloupe, pumpkin, and carrots, are examples of sources of vitamin A.
These vegetables and fruits have significant concentrations of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that your body can convert into vitamin A.
- Vitamin K
Consuming leafy greens, such as kale, collard greens, and spinach, may assist you in achieving the recommended daily intake of vitamin K. Other foods, such as parsley, broccoli, and brussels sprouts are also excellent suppliers.
How to Maintain the Good Health of Your Gums and Teeth
Maintaining the good health of your teeth by brushing and flossing them correctly is easy. In addition, if you take care of your gums and teeth properly, you’ll reduce your risk of developing gum disease and losing teeth.
Brushing one’s teeth and using dental floss, as your dentist recommends, can help prevent gum infections, cavities, and the loss of teeth. A visit to a dental hygienist at least once a year to have your teeth cleaned and examined is another vital thing to do.
Regardless of how well you wash your teeth, tartar and plaque may still accumulate and lead to issues with your gums. For assistance with dental problems, you may contact Emergency Dentists San Diego.
To properly wash one’s teeth:
- Brush your teeth first thing in the morning and again before bed.
- Use a soft bristles toothbrush and toothpaste that includes fluoride when you clean your teeth. Invest in and use an electric toothbrush if you are financially able to do so.
- Brush each tooth 15 to 20 times, positioning the toothbrush to be angled at a 45-degree angle against your gums.
- Make little strokes with the brush while maintaining a gentle motion. Avoid scrubbing.
- Use a toothbrush with short, back-and-forth strokes to clean the outer surfaces of the teeth.
- When cleaning the upper front tooth’s inner surfaces, use short strokes downward while brushing vertically against the teeth. When brushing the lower internal teeth, use quick, upward strokes.
- Use a toothbrush with short, back-and-forth strokes to clean the chewing surfaces of the teeth.
- It is essential to avoid covering your toothbrush or storing it in a container with a lid. Because of this, the proliferation of bacteria may be stimulated.
These practices often do not seriously impair your smile, but if your teeth have suffered damage from cracks, chipped enamel, or a mouth injury, Emergency Dentists San Diego may help.