8 Behaviors that Negatively Affect Your Smile
If you want to keep your teeth and smile looking attractive, then it is essential to avoid these bad habits.
1: Forgetting to Brush Your Teeth Twice a Day
You must brush your teeth at least twice a day to keep the enamel white along with removing food particles. If you fail to brush your teeth, then the bacteria will multiply inside your mouth, leading to cavities and gingivitis. While dentists recommend brushing your teeth twice a day, if you can brush more often, then you are more likely to maintain a beautiful smile for a lifetime. When it is difficult to remove the food debris that sticks between your teeth, buy an oral irrigator that emits highly pressurized water into your mouth.
2: Biting Your Fingernails
If you bite your fingernails, then it can damage your teeth with tiny cracks where bacteria are more likely to multiply. This damage will not happen immediately, but within a few years, your teeth will have abnormal wear and tear damage that might require an application of color-matching filling materials. In addition to causing damage to the enamel of your teeth, biting your fingernails will make your teeth shift into different positions, creating ugly gaps.
3: Consuming a Poor Daily Diet
To keep your smile looking its best, you need to consume a nutritious diet that provides numerous minerals and vitamins. When you eat a meal, make sure that at least half of your plate is covered with vegetables and fruit. You should also eat low-fat dairy products and meat along with whole-grain breads or pasta. Avoid eating junk foods that contain a lot of white flour or sugar because these ingredients are low in nutrients.
4: Smoking Cigarettes or Chewing Tobacco
If you chew tobacco or smoke cigarettes, then it is important to stop these bad habits. “Cigarettes and tobacco will stain your teeth and damage your gum tissue,” said Commonwealth Dentistry. Instead of having white teeth, your teeth will have ugly discolorations that are difficult to remove with toothpaste. The nicotine in tobacco and cigarettes can also cause inflammation in your mouth’s soft tissues, causing your teeth to have infected roots. When your teeth have infected roots, you may need to have a root canal.
5: Grinding Your Teeth
You might subconsciously grind your teeth when you experience stress or while you are sleeping, but this bad habit will damage the biting surfaces of your teeth. If you have headaches or jaw pain in the morning, then you probably have bruxism. Fortunately, a dentist can make a specialized device for you to wear on your teeth to provide protection, but if you have a bad bite, then you should visit an orthodontist to learn more about braces.
6: Never Flossing Your Teeth
In addition to brushing your teeth, you should also floss your teeth at least once a day to remove additional food particles and plaque. A thin section of floss can remove the debris that sticks between your teeth or along the gums. Not only will you have fresher breath, but also, by flossing, you can prevent gum disease and tooth decay. You can find an assortment of dental floss in a drugstore in order to have your favorite type to clean your teeth.
7: Sucking Your Thumb or Fingers
Children and adults who suck their thumbs are more likely to have misaligned teeth. Your thumb or fingers can push your teeth out of the proper alignments, leading to crooked teeth. Having crooked teeth will ruin your smile, and it is difficult to brush and floss your teeth when your teeth are misaligned. If you are having problems with sucking your fingers or thumb, then use a foul-tasting product on your skin to stop the habit.
8: Failing to Visit a Dentist
You should visit a dentist every six months for a checkup in order to find problems such as plaque buildup. A dentist can remove plaque with her dental instruments, and if you have a small cavity, then she can fill it right away before the problem gets worse. Your dentist can also whiten your teeth to remove stains from the enamel so that you can have a beautiful smile again.
