10 Bad Habits That Can Damage Your Teeth

A snow-white shiny smile is not a gift of nature. It is the result of determined hard work. But some bad habits can negate all efforts. Read about the most dangerous of them in this article.

1. Using teeth for opening bottles and packages
Teeth are made for chewing food and smiling! It is not recommended to use it for other purposes. Don’t use your teeth as scissors and can openers. It is necessary to open packages and bottles and hold objects with special tools, or you can break your tooth or a couple of them when doing it.

2. Drinking fruit juices
They're healthier than soda or coffee, but still high in sugar. Fruit juice contains the same amount of sugar as lemonade. Try to do little sips of water when drinking the juice to wash down all the sugar in your mouth.

3. Eating potato chips
Thin chips first break into small pieces and then got stuck between your teeth. After that got mixed with saliva and stick to your teeth. This food residue can cause dental plaque, so at least rinse your mouth after a snack.

4. Constantly snacking
If you constantly chew something, you have to rinse your mouth or brush your teeth so that food won’t get stuck between your teeth. But brushing your teeth too often is not that useful. It can increase the sensitivity of your teeth. It is better to regulate food intake and snack on hard fruits and veggies that help to clean your teeth. 

5. Nibbling pencils and pens
Often, people chew the tip of a pencil or pen when they are worried or trying to concentrate. This can damage your teeth or gums. Try to relieve tension in less harmful ways. Chewing sugar-free gum will do.

6. Overeating
Compulsive overeating implies that a person consumes a lot of sweets, sugar, fast food, and everything that contributes to the development of cavities. Overeating can cause another eating disorder - bulimia. Which means consuming food without measure and vomiting afterward. Since the stomach has its own acid, frequent vomiting can lead to the teeth and tissues around them breaking down which can be the cause of receding gums. Eating disorders can be treated by specialists, and these are not dentists, but psychiatrists or psychotherapists.

7. Drinking lots of coffee
Unfortunately, your favorite morning cup of coffee can harm your teeth. Caffeine can dry your mouth. Lack of saliva leads to the development of cavities. And this process will accelerate if you drink coffee with sugar.

8. Smoking
Need another reason to quit smoking? Tobacco can dry your mouth and increase the amount of plaque on the teeth. And smokers are more likely to have periodontitis. Heavy smoking can increase the risk of throat and lip cancer too.

9. Drinking red wine
Remember how difficult it is to remove a red wine stain from your white shirt? Imagine what it does to your teeth. Three components of red wine can discolor your teeth severely: 

• Chromogen, which gives a deep color to red wine.


• Acid, which slightly damages the enamel, so that the food dyes are easier to get into the tooth.


• Tannins can help the food dye to fix into your enamel.

Snack on protein food to avoid staining your teeth (cheese, for example). After a glass of wine, drink clean water or chew gum to produce more saliva, which will wash away the paint.

Fortunately for you, red wine residue can't last long in your mouth.

10. Drinking white wine
White wine doesn't have strong colorants, but those can be found in the food you eat. And the white wine’s tannins and acids can help these same food dyes fix on the teeth. Just mind what you eat. Do not forget that after eating acidic foods it is recommended to avoid brushing your teeth within the first 30 minutes to prevent damage to the enamel.

The bottom line
Avoid these bad habits to prevent your teeth from staining and damaging. Don’t neglect to consult a doctor if you have any symptoms of oral disease.