It’s common knowledge that you need to regularly brush and floss your teeth if you want a healthy smile. However, it takes more than just a great dental routine to protect your pearly whites from daily life! You may be unknowingly damaging your teeth with a few simple but destructive bad habits. Find out if you practice any of these five common behaviors that hurt oral health and what your Hamden dentist says you can do to keep your smile safe.
Brushing Your Teeth Incorrectly
Brushing your teeth is a fundamental part of keeping them clean, but it may be damaging them instead if done incorrectly. If you brush with a lot of force or a hard-bristled toothbrush, you’re wearing away at your enamel. Eventually, your teeth may become sensitive and even prone to cavities. If you have a habit of brushing too hard, use an ultra-soft bristled toothbrush or consider using an electric toothbrush.
Practicing Bad Chewing Habits
What do you do when you’re stressed, nervous, or bored? Many people will unconsciously begin to chew on nearby hard objects like pen caps, ice, or their fingernails. These items weaken your teeth, increase their risk of chipping, cracking, or fracturing, and could lead to an oral infection. To break this bad habit, try chewing on a piece of sugarless gum or a crunchy apple instead.
Using Your Teeth as Tools
Whether you’re enthusiastic about opening a gift or excited to get into your favorite bag of chips, it can be tempting to use your teeth as a handy tool. However, while it may feel convenient now, you may end up spending more time in the dentist’s chair later with a broken tooth. Save yourself the time and money by always choosing the right tools for the job.
Mindlessly Grazing Throughout the Day
How often you snack is just as important as how much. If you regularly snack on chips, crackers, cookies, dark berries, or soda, you drastically increase your risk of tooth decay and discoloration. Your smile and your waistline will thank you for cutting back on your snacking. Instead, try eating more smile-friendly foods like cheese, nuts, lean meats, and raw vegetables.
Forgoing Your Dental Checkups
Don’t wait for a toothache or dental emergency to see your dentist. Even if your teeth look and feel fine, you should be getting a routine checkup and cleaning every six months to keep them that way. Many oral health issues like tooth decay, gum disease, and oral cancer can develop without you seeing or feeling them. Thankfully, regular checkups allow your dentist to spot and stop any problems before they cause unnecessary damage or discomfort, or even prevent them from developing in the first place.
Taking the best care of your smile requires more than just daily brushing and flossing. Avoiding these five common but harmful every day activities can help keep your pearly whites healthy, intact, and beautiful for a lifetime!
About the Practice
Your strong, natural teeth are designed to last you a lifetime, and our talented team at D’Andrea & Pantera in Hamden is dedicated to helping you maintain them. That’s why we encourage all our patients to get dental checkups twice a year. This allows our highly trained dentists to spot and stop any oral health concerns as early as possible. It also gives them a chance to identify and alert you to any behaviors you may have that are damaging your teeth, as well as tips on how to overcome them. If you’d like to learn more, feel free to contact them via their website or at (203) 288-0951.
