We cannot wait to leave 2023 behind- and in all likeliness, you feel the same way. This year we learned the importance of taking care of your health, and oral health is huge, albeit often looked over, part of your general wellbeing. Read along to know what dental habits are harming your health and what you should stop doing! 

1) Using your teeth as scissors (or as a bottle opener and in-general multipurpose tool)

Your Amazon order is here, you’ve had your eyes glued to the door since you ordered it- and now, all you want to do is tear it open. But stop! Tooth enamel is hard but brittle. Your teeth will fracture or chip if you use them to bite down on packages or use them to open bottle caps. Seriously. Teeth are for eating. Consider investing in a Swiss Army Knife!

2) Object Chewing

Have you ever been writing an exam, and tried to chew on your pencil, and looked deep in thought? Perhaps to pretend that you haven’t forgotten everything you’ve ever written? Maybe you just chew on your pencil every time you have to think. Maybe you’re used to chewing on the ice in your glass after you finish your drink. This is a bad habit.

Your teeth cannot chew hard objects like writing stationery, ice, or even your nails. You can end up chipping your teeth. Nail biting can also cause your front teeth to start wearing off the enamel layer and eventually cause teeth sensitivity. Bacteria and other germs can enter your mouth through this habit and disrupt your oral hygiene. If someone borrows your chewed-on pencil, you’re sharing your germs with them too! Best stay away from this bad dental habit altogether.

3) Binge Eating

Once you get comfortable and put on Netflix for the night, there’s no telling when you can stop. TV is so addictive and so synonymous with snacking, that binge eating is certain to lead to terrible teeth. Food that you consume while binge eating is generally sugary or acidic- like cakes, chocolate, or chips. These fast-track decay. Bacteria in your mouth have a field day with such food and produce even more enamel-eroding acid. Try to look for healthier alternatives to snack on, like fresh produce. If you have a binge-eating problem, consider getting help for it. If you eat all day, you’ll probably get tooth decay. 

4) Drinking too much coffee or soda

If you’re the type of person who ‘needs’ 5 cups of coffee to get through the day- this is for you. Coffee stains your teeth due to the presence of tannins in it. The main issue with coffee or soda is that they are highly acidic. They get to work at the enamel or your teeth and erode it. Soda also has a high content of sugar, which is the biggest detriment to oral hygiene. Cut down on unnecessary consumption of these foods and maintain a good oral hygiene routine to prevent stains!

5) Using Toothpicks

Using toothpicks to get food out of your teeth is not ideal. You can accidentally injure your gums while using one and cause a bacterial infection in your gums. Toothpicks can also break and be lodged in between your teeth, defeating the purpose of using them at all. If food gets stuck in your teeth daily, you should visit your dentist and check for broken down or improperly shaped fillings.

If you do practice any of these bad dental habits, know that they are actually quite easy to drop. Once you do, you will start feeling that much better about the health of your mouth. Make sure to make your loved ones aware of these too. We don’t want anything else marring the start of our new year- so to these dental habits we say- Thank you, Next!

Highlights

• Some unconscious habits could cause damaging effects on your teeth.
• Using your teeth to open something anything could cause your teeth to chip off or even fracture.
• Chewing objects like pencils or pins could cause your teeth to wear off and eventually cause teeth sensitivity.
• Binge eating could make your teeth more prone to tooth decay.
• Having too much coffee or soda drinks could increase the pH of your saliva and make your teeth more prone to teeth erosion and eventually sensitivity.
• Using toothpicks could cause your gums to bleed and increase the spacing between your teeth. So its advised to kick the toothpick and floss like a boss.