A nice smile can brighten an entire room. It can make somebody’s day. Smiles can stop arguments, start friendships and entire relationships. However, people are reluctant to show those pearly whites to the world if they are not, well – white. Keeping them white takes work and dedication. It is not just about brushing and flossing. It is also about rethinking some of your habits and getting rid of them if they’re hurting your teeth. Take a look and see if you are making these mistakes, as well.
Brushing too Hard
Two times a day is just enough. Of course, if need be, you should do it more often, but two times is enough. However, you can have too much of a good thing. Brushing too hard with an inadequate toothbrush will hurt your teeth. You will actually scrub the enamel off your teeth and that is the first line of defense that they have. Scrubbing it off means making your teeth more prone to bacteria breaches and other harmful influences.
Not Flossing
Adequate brushing will save you from a lot of trouble, but flossing is also important. There are some things that you just cannot reach with a brush, regardless of how good it is. Flossing will reach to all that in-between areas that have to be cleaned. Otherwise, all that stuck food will become the best possible breeding ground for teeth-thirsty bacteria. That’s what causes cavities and other teeth problems.
Using Your Teeth as a Tool
Opening different bottles, crisps packages, cutting off some loose threads and many other things are sometimes done by teeth. If you are doing this, you may as well start looking for a great orthodontist right away, because tooth fractures are just waiting to happen to you. You may think that, just because you avoided tooth fracture, you are all fine. But that’s not true. Your tooth doesn’t have to break in half to be a problem. Micro-fractures and line cracks happen all the time. They become doors for all sort of bacteria that can enter your teeth and cause issues.
Too Much Bleaching
The reason you are bleaching your teeth is to make them more beautiful. But if you are doing it too much, you are going to have quite the opposite effect. You are going to destroy the enamel with all that aggressive chemicals and your gums are going to start receding. There is nothing good or beautiful about that. So, stick to your dentist’s advice about the regularity of your teeth bleaching. Also, stay clear of any home-made versions of teeth whitening.
Smoking
Millions of words have been written about how bad smoking is for you. This is not the place to list all those things, but to focus on the horror smoking causes for your oral cavity. You dull your sense of smell and taste and your teeth are yellowish all the time. Also, you may not notice it, but your breath is bad all the time. Those mints that you pop in are not cutting it.
Grinding Your Teeth
Well, this is usually something that people do in their sleep, so there is not much that you can do to stop it. However, there are dental protections now that you can put before going to sleep. They look a bit like the mouth guards boxers use. Still, they will stop you from grinding your teeth. Grinding can cause tooth fracture and cracks.
Some of these are obviously bad, while some are a bit surprising. But, thinking about these and getting rid of such habits will save you a lot of money and a lot of visits to the dentists. Also, it will allow you to keep those pearly whites shining.
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