Taking care of our teeth is a lifelong process. Certain habits we develop or specific food preferences can cause havoc on our teeth and its wellbeing. Even though it looks like our teeth can take everything there is still a threshold beyond which there can be trouble causing chipping, discolouration, sensitiveness and pain in our teeth. It is awareness about things that can harm our teeth that will guide us towards healthy teeth and a gleaming smile.
Here are a few things we should stop doing to keep our teeth in good shape:
Chewing on ice
Unlike ice-creams, ice is natural and sugar-free or you may think so. You may feel that it is just harmless. On the contrary munching on frozen ice cubes can very often result in a chip or crack in your teeth.
If it goes further and irritates the soft tissue inside the tooth, this will give rise to toothaches. The result is hot foods and cold drinks may trigger sharp pain and nagging toothache. So, whenever you feel like chomping on some ice-cubes, just chew on some sugarless gum instead.
Without guard
Lot of times a young person engaging in a game or sports meet with unexpected injuries on the field and it can be something to do with their dental health. The norm is to use a tooth guard whenever you play games like football, hockey or any other contact sport.
Without a mouth guard, you can be the victim of a painful dental injury including teeth getting chipped or even knocked off completely.
Grinding teeth (Cruxism)
Many people have the habit of grinding their teeth even when they are not angry. Grinding teeth can result in wearing down of the teeth. The habit can happen when one is asleep and due to some stress and sleeping habits. It is then quite hard to control. Avoiding hard foods during the daytime to reduce the damage and wearing a mouth guard (splint )at night is advisable.
Taking cough drops
Cough drops are sold through medical stores, but simply because of that, they are not meant to be safe for your teeth. Most of these are loaded with sugar. Make sure to brush your teeth after having one. Sugar from the candy will react with a plaque in your teeth and coats your teeth. The bacteria in the plaque then convert sugar to acid that eats away your tooth enamel causing cavities.
Gummy candies
Any sugary treat promotes teeth decay and especially a hard-boiled candy. Especially the gummy variety sticks to the teeth, keeping the sugar and resulting in acid formation with plaque.
Drinking Soda
Sodas have up to 11 teaspoons of sugar per serving. Sodas also contain phosphoric acid and citric acids, which destroy your teeth. Diet sodas skip the sugar but produce more acid from the artificial sweeteners added in them.
Opening things with teeth
The habit of opening things with your teeth is really harmful to your teeth. It causes your teeth to chip and crack. Instead, use a bottle opener or a scissor to open things.
Fruit juices
Though fruit juices are supposed to be loaded with vitamins and antioxidants they come loaded with sugar too. They may be equally harmful as the soda, so look for fresh juice without sugar.
Constant snacking
Snacking is a habit that produces less saliva than your normal meal. So, while snacking the bits and pieces in your teeth are just left behind if there is less saliva to wash it off. Avoid habitual snacking and stick to low sugar and starch free snacks.