15 May Harmful Dental Habits to Avoid
Maintaining good dental habits is the best way to ensure you will have strong, healthy teeth throughout your life. This includes everyday care as well as periodic visits to the dentist. By taking good care of your teeth, you also help set a foundation for your overall health.
Everyday Dental Care
Everyday dental care encompasses brushing, flossing and avoiding habits and actions that can damage your teeth. You should brush and floss every day, using an appropriate toothbrush, not only to keep your teeth clean, but to stimulate your gums to keep them healthy. If the teeth are not cleaned regularly, food accumulates on them, leading to tooth decay. Without flossing, food particles linger between the teeth and the gums are not properly stimulated, which can lead to gingivitis or periodontal disease.
Some everyday habits can also threaten the health of your teeth. These are often things you don’t think of as detrimental to your dental health, or that you aren’t aware of when they occur. These include:
- Clenching and grinding
- Chewing on ice
- Biting your nails
- Biting pens or pencils
Any of these activities can lead to cracking or chipping, or can wear down the biting or chewing surfaces of your teeth prematurely. Chipped, cracked or worn teeth are more likely to need additional restorative treatment and might even need to be removed if damage is severe enough.
Visiting the Dentist—Why is it Important?
Also important to your long term dental care is visiting your dentist. If you avoid your regular appointments, you are missing out on an important opportunity to detect and diagnose problems before they become severe. Your time in the dental chair is spent evaluating the health of your teeth and gums, examining other oral tissues for irregularities and looking for signs of decay or other issues. This is the best way to find out about problems such as malocclusion, abnormal wear, early stages of gum disease and even signs of oral cancer. If you are sure to visit the dental office on the recommended schedule, you are much more likely to maintain long term dental health.
For more information and to schedule your next exam, contact our San Antonio TX office today.