Bad dental habits are a dime a dozen, and most people are unaware that they do them or of the consequences they have to their overall dental health. Some of them are common nervous habits, such as biting your nails. If you want to know if you have any bad dental habits that you need to kick, then ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you bite your nails?
- Do you chew gums?
Nail Biting and Dental Damage
Nails are harder than you might think and can cause quite a bit of damage over time to your pearly white teeth, even to the point of micro fractures, chipped, and cracked teeth. Over time, chewing on certain parts of your teeth repetitively can cause the teeth to wear down and cause you to have an uneven bite, which has more repercussions on its’ own.
On another note, have you heard about the number of germs on your hands, fingers, and under your nails!?! Gross! The space underneath your nails has massive amounts of bacteria. By biting your nails, you’re inviting a swarm of bacteria into your mouth that can cause mouth and gum disease, tooth decay and other malicious problems.
Moral of the story, avoid nail biting to protect your teeth!
Chewing Gum a Cause of Teeth Grinding
Many people try chewing gum instead of biting their nails, but this can cause an entirely separate issue for your teeth that leads to the same detriment of your oral health. Chewing gum can trigger bruxism, the grinding of your teeth, especially in your sleep. We’ve gone in depth on bruxism in the past.
However, if you don’t have trouble with grinding your teeth, then chewing sugar-free gum can have benefits such as improving the amount of saliva that’s in your mouth, that can help reduce bacteria, plaque, and food particles sitting on top of your pearly white teeth.
