Bad dental habits

Committing these five mistakes could be causing serious damage to your precious teeth. Break these habits before you ruin your pearly whites.

We only get one set of adult teeth, so putting in the time and effort to care for them is one of the most important parts of a healthy lifestyle. But without even realizing it, you may be doing things that can harm your teeth. Check out these bad dental habits, and work on eliminating the ones you commit.

Chewing gum often

While chewing gum after a meal can help get the saliva flowing and thereby help prevent cavities from forming, the motion of chomping down on that gum can lead to other issues. With your jaw becoming used to that grinding and chewing motion, you may eventually become used to clenching your jaw and grinding your teeth, which may lead to your jaw clicking.

Brushing your teeth after a sugary meal or drink

You might think you’re doing your teeth a favour by immediately brushing after drinking a sugary sports or soft drink, but what you are actually doing is spreading that sugar around your mouth. You’d be better off rinsing your mouth with water and waiting about an hour before brushing your teeth.

Opening things with your teeth

When we have a stubborn package that won’t be torn open or a bottle cap that won’t budge, what do so many of us automatically do? Use our teeth to crack them open. But you may end up cracking a tooth instead. Try other options (scissors, pliers or rubber gloves for a better grip), and you may save yourself some pricey dental work.

Drinking sugary drinks

As you know, consuming soft drinks and other sugary drinks is not good for your teeth. Soda pop in particular contains phosphoric acid, which can erode your precious teeth over time. When you crave a soft drink and must have one, drink it through a straw, which brings your teeth into contact with less of the beverage.

Using the wrong toothbrush

If you brush twice daily with the wrong toothbrush, you could be doing your teeth damage. The bristles of the toothbrush should be soft, and you should brush your teeth gently in a circular motion. Bristles that are too hard and a brushing action that is too rough can hurt your teeth’s enamel and cause receding gums.

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