Bad Habits that Ruin Your Teeth And Health

We’ve all been there, sitting in the dentist’s chair as he checks over our teeth, a disappointed “tsk-tsking” sound as he shakes his head and asks us what we’ve been doing to our teeth. Other than forgetting to brush or floss every now and then you’re probably a little at a loss as to why your teeth are so bad, right? Well, you might be one of many people who have a host of bad habits that ruin your teeth everyday and slowly wear them down little by little. Take a look and see if you’ve got a bad habit or two that is leading to tooth decay or damage.

Bad habits that ruin your teeth

1. Grinding Teeth and Jaw Clenching

This is one of the many bad habits that ruin your teeth because you put an undue amount of pressure on your teeth that can cause micro-fractures or complete fractures to your teeth. This can cause weakened areas as well as damage to dental work that can lead to serious dental issues and costly dental repairs the damaged areas.

2. Eating Lemons

Now this one probably seems like a joke, what’s the harm in lemons right? However, these yellow bits of fruit are very acidic and can slowly erode your teeth enamel overtime and cause damage as well as leave a rough, less shiny surface on your teeth.

3. Crunching Ice: bad habits that ruin your teeth

For a lot of people crunching ice is an entertaining pastime as you watch a game or get lost in a thought while drinking, but it can be harmful to your teeth as well. This is another of the bad habits that ruin your teeth because the combination of the cold temperatures and the hardness of the ice can dull and weaken your teeth, making it more likely that you’ll have dental issues due to ice cube crunching.

4. Using Your Teeth as a Tool

We’ve all done it; you need a pair of scissors but nothing’s around so you bite through the tape or rip open a bag of potato chips instead of getting up to get those scissors. Your teeth might seem like a handy tool in a pinch, but you can weaken your teeth and cause fractures if you do it too often or too hard (i.e. using your teeth as a handy bottle opener.)

5. Drinking Carbonated Drinks

Another of the many bad habits that ruin your teeth is drinking carbonated drinks such as sodas because they are just like lemons with a very high acidic content. Sodas can erode your teeth’s enamel as well as cause decay around the gum line, you’re basically bathing your teeth in acid whenever you drink a soda.

6. Using Tooth Picks: bad habits that ruin your teeth

Tooth picks can be helpful and harmless, but oftentimes people overuse them and get too aggressive when they use toothpicks to clean their teeth. A good rule of thumb is if it hurts it is damaging your teeth, so knock it off. Use toothpicks wisely and sparingly so that you don’t damage your gums or teeth in any way.