Some bad habits are hard to break, but part of breaking a bad habit is realizing you are doing it in the first place and the impact that it has. There are a number of bad habits that can impact your teeth and your dental health—some that you may not even be aware of. For the top Burbank dentist and orthodontist, contact Burbank City Dental for your options in stress-free oral hygiene.

Below are some of the top bad habits that affect your teeth.

Chewing on Ice

Who doesn’t love an ice-cold beverage? However, did you know that crushing down on ice with your teeth can potentially cause damage to your teeth? While the tooth’s enamel more often than not beats the ice, sometimes I’s not so lucky. Ice is capable of breaking enamel and even chipping the tooth’s enamel, so it’s best to avoid crushing ice with your teeth. To help break this habit, use a straw when drinking ice-cold beverages.

Grinding your Teeth (Or Clenching Your Jaw)

Grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw can cause a lot of damage to your teeth, including grinding down the tooth’s surface, breaking the tooth’s enamel, ruining the alignment of your teeth, and causing pain or discomfort in the jaw. Grinding your teeth is often the result of stress, however this can be combatted by wearing a night guard while sleeping.

Eating Sour Gummy Candy

If you’ve ever eaten gummy candy, you already know the kind of chunks it can leave in between and inside the crevices of your teeth. Add to this a sour, sugary coating, and you have now added to its impact on your teeth by now trapping this sugar in the crevices of your teeth and gums, leading to potential decay and rotting in the teeth.

Not Flossing

Flossing is an essential part of any oral care regimen. Brushing your teeth alone cannot get food particles and tartar that can build up in between the gums and the teeth. By flossing your teeth, you can achieve longer lasting oral health and better breath (your boyfriend/girlfriend will thank you).

Not Brushing Before Bed

Brushing your teeth before you go to bed can be challenging for many people who either tend to fall asleep before they are able to and just simply forget to make it a part of a nighttime routine. However, while most people prefer to brush their teeth in the morning to rid the mouth of morning breath, brushing your teeth at night when you’ve finished eating for the day and intend to sleep for the next several hours is extremely important to proper oral care. There’s a lot of bacteria in your mouth and around your teeth. By brushing your teeth at night, you help keep your teeth cleaner and help prevent that bacteria from causing cavities and decay.

Using Your Teeth to Open Things

Have you ever had trouble tearing off a price tag on a new piece of clothing or perhaps opening up a package that you can’t seem to rip open? Your teeth are probably more successful than not in helping you open up or cut things open. This is probably why you continue to use it when you don’t have a pair of scissors handy. But, your teeth are intended to help you chew up your food and break it up for digestion. They were not designed or intended to be used as tools to help you open or cut things open. You risk damaging your teeth and potentially cutting up or injuring your gums or mouth in the process.

Over-Brushing

There is such a thing as brushing your teeth too hard or too much. By being too hard on your teeth, you can do damage to your gums. Also, by brushing your teeth too hard and too much, you can begin to wear down the tooth’s enamel, actually making it weaker and more likely to break.

Avoiding the Dentist

At the very minimum, you should visit your dentist at least once a year. Ideally, it is recommended that you see your dentist twice a year. Most dental insurance plans cover two visits each year, including cleanings. By going to the dentist regularly, not only will you help ensure cleaner, healthier teeth, but your dentist can catch any potential problems with your teeth before they become major problems for you. To schedule and appointment with a Burbank dentist and orthodontist, reach out to Burbank city Dental.

How’d you do? Are you guilty of any of these bad habits? If so, that’s okay. Again, being aware of your habits is the first step. Pick even just one or two habits to focus on and work on breaking those first.

Burbank Dentist and Orthodontist

If you are located in or around the Burbank area and need to schedule your next dental checkup, look no further than Burbank City Dental. You can contact the friendly professionals at Burbank City Dental for all of your dental needs. You can reach us at (818) 567-0522 or you book your appointment online.