Do you deal with anxiety or stress by biting your nails? Or maybe you find yourself chewing on your pen or pencil while you work. Habits like these may seem trivial, but they can really harm your teeth. Here at Pikes Peak Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Center, we care deeply about your oral health and want to help you maintain a healthy and happy smile.
Here are several common habits that you should leave behind for a healthy smile:
- Nail Biting – Many people bite their nails because of anxiety, stress, or even boredom. Most nail biters don’t even notice when they bite! While it may seem completely harmless, biting your nails is unsanitary and can cause misaligned, splintered, or even broken teeth.Want an easy fix? Wearing scented lotion or hand sanitizer can help you start noticing when you bring your hands up to your face. Or try chewing sugar-free gum! This will help to keep your mouth busy with something besides your fingernails. Bonus: sugar-free gum can also help freshen your breath!
- Using Your Teeth as Tools – Do you ever use your teeth to open packages or rip tags off new clothes? Maybe you even use your teeth to loosen tight bottle caps or lids. Teeth are not built to maintain this type of pressure; they exist to help us speak, smile, and chew properly. Using your teeth to open things or bite down on hard objects, like metal and plastic, can cause cracked and broken teeth, which can be painful and expensive to restore.The solution? Take a few moments to find the tool you need. This will save you a lot of time, money, and potential discomfort.
- Ice Crunching –Chewing ice can wear down tooth enamel, increase tooth sensitivity, and even break or crack your teeth. People with fillings should be especially careful, as ice causes fillings to contract and become more fragile.What is a good alternative? If you need to occupy your mouth, try the sugar-free gum. It is a much better option! Minted toothpicks are another good option if you don’t like gum.
- Pen Gnawing – A pen or pencil is not meant to be chewed on and can do immense harm to your teeth. People tend to do this absentmindedly while they study or work but are unaware of how much pressure they are putting on their teeth. Pen or pencil biting can cause cracking, shifting, and breaking of your teeth.Wondering what to do instead of biting your pen? Once again, chewing gum can help you kick this habit. You might also want to consider buying pencil toppers or erasers to cover the metal end of your pencil and help remind you not to bite it!
We understand that habits can be tough to break, but when you break these bad habits, your oral health will benefit greatly! Your teeth will be strong, and you will be able to chew food and smile with complete confidence. If you have any missing or broken teeth (either in connection with these habits or not), please feel free to contact our office about possible solutions. We look forward to answering any questions you have and will gladly schedule you a consultation with our experienced oral surgeon, Dr. Kunkel.