Health

Practices That Ruin Your Teeth

12 Practices That Ruin Your Teeth

Teeth are very sensitive and need special care to remain intact. But certain habits can wreck them. You need to be cautious and guard your teeth from damage. Following are some habits that you need to stop right away to protect your teeth.


1. Opening things with your teeth

Opening things like plastic packaging and bottle caps with your teeth may look easy, but this habit will damage your teeth in the long run. It might chip or crack your teeth. Always use scissors or knife to cut stuff and use your teeth exclusively for eating.


2. Chewing Ice

Even though ice is sugar-free, it isn’t harmless. Munching on frozen, solid cubes could crack your teeth. It might also be followed by toothaches. Hot and cold eatables may lead to sharp pain in your gums.


3. Piercing your tongue

Piercing your tongue might look trendy but biting that metal can crack your tooth. Similar risk goes for lip piercing. If that metal rub against the gums it can damage your gums leading to tooth loss. Also it can cause bacterial infection and sores in mouth.


4. Soda

Soda could contain up to 11 teaspoons of sugar per serving along with citric and phosphoric acids. Diet soft drink doesn’t contain sugar but they might have more acid in the form of the artificial sweeteners.


5. Sticky Candy

Tooth decay happens by almost all sugary substances. Candies are no different. Sticky candies when stick to teeth starts eroding them. It keeps sugar and the resulting acids in contact with your enamel for hours.


6. Sports Drinks

Sport drinks usually contain high sugar. Similar to soda they can create an acid attack on the enamel of your teeth. Drinking them often can cause tooth decay. It is recommended by dentists in UK to have calorie free and sugar free liquids to stay hydrated at gym.


7. Constant Snacking

Snacking leaves behind food bits in your teeth for hours together. Thus avoid snacking often, and consume snacks that are low in starch and sugar.


8. Potato Chips

The bacteria present in plaque breaks down starchy foods into acid which is harmful for teeth. If the food remains in your teeth it leads to its decay. Make sure you floss after eating potato chips or any other food which sticks to your teeth.


9. Eating Spree

Binge eating generally involves consuming lot of sweets which can spoil your teeth. It can damage your dental health to a lot of extent. The strong acids which are found in vomit can make your teeth brittle and cause bad breath.


10. Smoking

Tobacco products or cigarettes can tarnish teeth and can also lead to gum disease. It can also cause mouth tongue and lip cancer.


11. Drinking Coffee

Coffee is dark in colour which causes de-colouring of teeth. Though it can be treated by teeth whitening methods, it is always advisable to reduce the intake of coffee.


12. Drinking Red & White Wine

The acids present in wine create rough spots that expose teeth to staining. The colour of wine also sticks to teeth and stay for a longer time. Make sure you rinse your mouth properly after consuming wine.