Teeth play an important role in our daily life and physical well-being, not only do teeth take care of proper mastication of foods but also play an important role in providing shape to our face and thus enhance our beauty, healthy teeth are a part of a healthy lifestyle. And taking care of our smile is a prime duty. We eat food three to four times a day, the food we eat is chewed by teeth and, normally, foods accumulate in our teeth and other corners of our mouth. Thus bacteria get generated. Therefore maintaining cleanliness and hygiene of our teeth and mouth is an essential habit that we all shall adopt. there are few Dangerous dental habits that we should avoid for better dental health.
Clean beautiful teeth not only are an assurance of good health but also help one to get a colossal amount of self-confidence and self-esteem. The situation of gums and tongue also depends on the way you treat Your teeth. It’s suggested that one should at least brush twice a day and after every meal to keep their teeth and mouth healthy. Some dental habits are caused by our eating habits, some are caused by our drinking habits and some are caused by our mundane tasks and irresponsible attitude toward our teeth. To keep their teeth healthy and hygienic one must avoid the following Dangerous Dental Habits:
- Bruxism/ clenching
It is one of the most common dangerous dental habits where patients tend to clench their teeth. When one has Bruxism or clenching disorder they are found to clench their teeth while they are sleeping or awake. Sleep bruxism causes clenching during sleep and people who have sleeping bruxism more often have other sleep-related disorders like snoring and pause in breathing. Bruxism in awake condition is another type of bruxism. Both can cause dental damage.
This also known as Jaw Clenching is considered an oral Para functional activity. Bruxism causes no pain. But the pain or heaviness in the muscles of mastication can be felt after the bruxism, this pain can be removed by easy exercise. The causes of Bruxism are translucent. This is either a subconscious habit or totally an involuntary habit. The cause of Bruxism or clenching is debated widely. It’s often said that it causes due to stress.
Often people with family responsibilities and severe work pressure are the major victim of this disorder though the reason is still considered unclear. In children, It’s considered that bruxism happens due to earache. Whereas It’s observed that sleep bruxism is caused by actions related to Central Nervous System. It consists of sleep arousal and neurotransmitter abnormalities. Awake clenching consists of nail-biting, chewing on a pencil or pen, tongue thrusting, cheek biting, etc. Bruxism causes dental damage and dental restorations are often destroyed and fail, therefore patients with bruxism are treated with a simple method. Night guards are used to treat bruxism. These are simple flexible appliances that have to worn over teeth at night during sleeping. Pressure exerted from upper teeth during clenching is transferred to this appliance that in return prevents direct impact on lower teeth. Moreover night guards help to reduce excessive pressure on jaw also.
- Thumb-sucking
Thumb-sucking may cause dental damage. But not always thumb sucking causes dental damage. Active thumb-sucking can cause dental damage. The thumb-sucking with a lot of motion can cause dental trouble. Vigorous thumb-sucking can also cause the above. The effect caused by thumb-sucking is generally temporary and goes away with the upcoming permanent teeth in babies.
Though continuous thumb sucking can cause misalignment of permanent teeth in children, it can have a visible effect on the jaw and can impress its shape. It affects the hard palate. Along with dental damage, it can also spread germs. Long-term thumb sucking can have some effect on the mouth; vigorous thumb-sucking affects teeth as well as the mouth. Thumb-sucking causes pressure on the jaw and the hard palate. The following can be caused due to this dangerous dental habit Thumb-sucking
- It can change the shape of the jaw which can further affect the alignment of the teeth. It can cause speech problems in children. The development of lisp is even caused by thumb-sucking.
- The hard palate can get affected due to vigorous thumb-sucking. It can get swollen and pale.
- The front teeth can protrude out from the jaw and the gum, which can cause overbite issues.
- Overjet, crossbite, and open bite can also be caused due to long-term thumb sucking.
- Thumb sucking can also delay the eruption of permanent teeth
- Nail biting
It’s seen that many of us bite our nails. And this phenomenon is considered normal. Billions of fingernails are chewed every day. This tendency is studied to be genetic. This is more often seen in females than males. This is mostly seen in the age group of 5 years to 25 years.
Recent studies found that besides nail biting being an unhygienic habit it also affects our teeth. It causes harm to teeth and has a visible effect on the structure of our mouth if it has been continued for years. Nail biting can cause teeth to get chipped. Chewing excessively hard things can harm your teeth. Biting hard surfaces like nails can chip your tooth. The enamel of the teeth can be fractured by biting excessively hard nails. It can cause a gap between your teeth, which is also known as Diastema. Nail-biting habits at an early age can result in gaps between the middle incisors. Vigorous eating of nails and putting nails between the incisors are generally responsible for Diastema. It also weakens the root of your teeth, and nail-biting during dental treatment such as using braces and aligners can cause the weakening of the teeth root.
The roots of the teeth get dissolved by the bone around them and cause the weakening. Biting of nails can cause disk displacement in the temporomandibular joint. Patients in this condition often come across pain in their TMJ. And study states many of the time It’s caused by a nail-eating habit. Nail biting can cause several dental problems. One of the rarest problems is Gingivitis, it can also cause Gingivitis. Often kids, who eat nails, put their fingers frequently on their gums and it can cause swelling, their gums become pale, and pink and are pitted around the teeth.
Betel nut (areca nut) is the seed of areca palm and is chewed with substances like tobacco. This dangerous habit is known to cause many health hazards along with serious dental damage. This practice is most common in Asian regions and is spreading rapidly to other lands. It is a part of people’s lifestyles like smoking and drinking, tobacco, and betel nut chewing are also considered part of a certain lifestyle of people. Frequent chewing of betel nuts along with tobacco can cause gum inflammation or gum bleeding.
It can also cause stained teeth, and dental perforations and can also result in permanent loss of teeth. One very common effect of betel chewing is Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). OSF starts as inflammation and then leads to hyper vascularity and fibrosis. OSF is a condition that restricts the movement of the jaw altogether due to fibrosis of cheeks sometimes extending and involving tongue and soft palate . Betel Chewing along with carcinogenic agents like tobacco can further deteriorate the condition. It causes OSF to turn into Squamous cell carcinoma, which is the most common cancer associated with tobacco chewing. In almost 2 to 15% of OSF cases worldwide, the deposition of collagen transforms into a malignant tumor.
Betel nut chewing and its effects on the oral cavity are irreversible. Although modern techniques and recent discoveries have led to effective ways to remove betel nut-stained teeth and deep reds, still it leaves the patient with scraped-off enamel thus increasing sensitivity in the tooth.
Dangerous dental habits also include several habits that we perform during our mundane tasks such as using our teeth as tools. Using our teeth for Tasks It’s not meant to do can be fatal. It’s often used to open bottles, tear plastic wrappers, etc. This can lead to damage like broken teeth, weakened structures, etc.
We often eat ice, which also harms our teeth; we should lay off the eyes after finishing out cold beverages. The frozen dish can cause tooth damage, the damage may be small but it will eventually take place. Often excessive hygiene can cause dental damage, people are often found to have habits of excessive brushing, and one should only brush their teeth softly. Taking care of your teeth is important as it plays several crucial roles. Several day-to-day habits of yours can cause dental damage without your knowledge. Even our smallest habits can gradually cause a big dental fracture and accident. Therefore we need to be aware while doing our day-to-day activities and taking care of our teeth.
Final Thoughts
Breaking typical habits is not easy. Some habits are so entangled and we do not even realize their harm, binge eating or eating snacks frequently can also harm your dental health. Taking soda and sports drinks can affect it too. Different types of piercing especially tongue piercing can damage your teeth and mouth. Even when we take care of our teeth, brush them twice, and see dentists and hygienists regularly, our basic habits can harm the dental health we are not well aware of. Remember to avoid these dangerous dental habits for better dental health.
