Innocent Boise Dental Habits That May Be Harming Your Teeth

The majority of us try to take good care of our teeth with regular brushing, flossing, and routine Boise dental exams and Boise teeth cleanings. A solid Boise dental routine is essential to maintaining healthy teeth and gums for a beautiful smile. However, even when we are attempting to care for our teeth there are some bad habits we form that can lead to potential damage when it comes to your overall Boise dental health. Below are eight habits that can negatively impact your smile:

Smoking – As the top item on the list, smoking isn’t just harmful to your organs, muscles, and senses, it also does significant damage to your mouth and teeth as well. Oral cancer is just one of the many negative effects of smoking, but others can include bad breath, yellow teeth, receding gum lines, and even tooth loss.

Brushing Incorrectly – When it comes to your Boise dental health, brushing twice daily is the single most important thing you can do. Brushing not only keeps teeth clean, it also fights off potential issues like tooth decay, gum disease, and bad breath. Not brushing correctly, however, can lead to damage and make brushing less effective than it should be. For example, instead of brushing back and forth you should use small circular motions instead as they work best. Its also important to brush for at least two minutes evenly divided between all areas of the mouth.

Choosing the Wrong Toothbrush –  While it’s important to clean teeth thoroughly, it shouldn’t be done abrasively. Brushing too hard, or using an overly stiff toothbrush can lead to damage of the tooth’s enamel. Instead, it’s better to use a soft toothbrush with a small head to reach difficult places. Be sure to brush gently, and replace your toothbrush every three months to avoid unhealthy bacteria growth.

Using Toothpicks – Sharp toothpicks can often seem like a good solution when it comes to removing food from between your teeth after meals but they can also easily result in gum damage. Boise dental floss, on the other hand, not only works better, but is far healthier for both teeth and gums. *A good tip is to keep some on hand throughout the day to use after each meal.

Teeth Are Not Tools – We’ve all done it. While it may seem like a simple thing use your teeth to open a bag of chips or remove a tag from a new article of clothing, it’s not worth it! If you use your teeth as tools to open any pesky packaging, it can result in some serious damage like a chipped tooth or broken best smile restorations. Avoid unwanted damage by grabbing a proper tool like a pair of scissors instead of using your teeth.

Cool it on Ice Crunching – Ice is one of your teeths worst enemies. Not only is it super hard, it’s super cold – two things that don’t mix well with teeth. Crunching on ice is a great way to fracture a tooth and develop tiny cracks in it. Down the road, these tiny cracks can lead to much bigger (and costlier) Boise dental problems.

Keep Fingers Away! Another bad Boise dental habit is biting your nails because it can lead to tooth damage, among other things. Keep in mind that your fingernails are dirty and biting them invites hidden germs to enter your body (yuck!). Also, fingernails are hard, and chronic biting can cause teeth to break, crack, or shift.

And Pens Too! Like nail biting, another bad Boise dental habit to break is biting on pens or pencils. Doing so places a lot of pressure on teeth, causing them to crack, shift or damage best smile restorations.