Taking care of your teeth has become a priority, both for health and aesthetic reasons. Technology is advancing, solutions for every problem are numerous and patients are investing a lot of time, money and effort in order to have a perfect white smile. Nevertheless, there are a number of bad habits that we practice every day, and we’re not even aware of their harmfulness to the teeth. Here are the 10 most common:

1. Using your teeth as a tool

Biting labels, opening bag of snacks, opening nail polish … All these seemingly little things, that you have done at least once in your life, can lead to damage to the teeth. Tiny cracks in the enamel of the teeth and ragged edges may be the consequences of such behavior. Patients often complain about the appearance of these teeth, which are not easy to permanently repair.

2. Brushing your teeth immediately after the meal

Although we are taught to wash our teeth after every meal, if you do it right after you finish a meal, it is possible to damage your teeth. It is necessary to wait for 30 minutes. The saliva will neutralize the acidity in your mouth, and after that, you can brush your teeth. This danger exists for pregnant women who have morning sickness and vomiting, and therefore the acid from the stomach can adversely affect tooth enamel.

3. The use of hard brushes

Another sentence that we hear almost every day in the dental office is “I brush my teeth with a hard brush because only that way I feel my teeth are clean”. This is a misconception. Brushing your teeth with the hard brush leads to damage of the enamel and to erosions. These teeth eventually become sensitive and it is necessary to protect them with composite (white) fillings. There are soft brushes with dense fibers which, because of its density, brushes teeth thoroughly, without inflicting any damage.

4. The consumption of coffee and tea

Surely you’ve heard by now that large amounts of coffee and tea may affect the color of your teeth. When you drink a cup of coffee always drink a glass of water. Caffeine reduces the secretion of saliva and it favors the acidic environment in the mouth. This is the other reason why having too much coffee or tea is a bad habit.

5. Chewing ice from drinks

Playing with ice cubes from the beverage in your mouth leads to the appearance of microcracks in the enamel. This eventually can cause bigger problems for your teeth. The appearance of visible cracks in the enamel and tooth sensitivity are some of them.

6. Dried fruit

The need for sugar is certainly better to satisfy by consuming dried fruit rather than sweets. However, dried fruit has a large contribution to the creation of an acidic environment in the mouth. This favors the formation of cavities in the teeth. In addition, the dried fruit adheres to the teeth and in this way persists for a long time in your mouth.

7. Excessive amounts of fruit

A paradox is that, whereas medical doctors advise eating as many fruits as possible during the day, and dentists advise otherwise. What should you do? From the aspect of dental health, the best would be that the amount of fruit you want to eat in a day, you eat at once. In this way, the fruit acid will not affect your teeth the whole day. Half an hour after this meal brush your teeth and you do not have to worry about these bad habits. Also, if you are not able to brush your teeth, a sip of water or a piece of cheese will help neutralize the acidity of the fruit.

8. Wine tasting

Wine is also a source of acidity for the teeth. White wine is more acidic than red, and a sparkling wine affects the teeth even worse. Wine experts teach us to hold a sip of wine in your mouth. This is the worst thing you can do for your teeth when it comes to the consumption of acidic drinks. If you want to keep your teeth from the harmful effects, do not hold the sip of wine in your mouth and, of course, after drinking wine neutralize the acidic environment with water.

9. Swimming in  the pool

If you often swim in the pool, chlorine from the water can affect your teeth. Damage the enamel is one of the possible consequences. So when you swim, try to hold your mouth closed and so that the water does not come into contact with the teeth.

10. Bad habits – piercing tongue and lips

These bad habits are common in younger patients. With pierced lips or tongue they break off a part of the enamel during eating or playing with the piercings.

If any of this information is new to you, next time you do some of these things, remember what it actually does to your teeth. Also, if you have a similar habit for which you are not sure whether it is harmful or not, send us a question and we will be happy to answer it.