5 Bad Habits That Can Do Damage to Your Smile

In this day and age, a winning smile can be a valuable asset. In truth, a person’s smile has long been regarded as a way to make social inroads. Whether you’re looking to get lucky in love or you want to nail a job interview, your smile could make or break the deal. And even beyond that, flashing your pearly whites just makes you feel good, while trying to hide a smile full of snaggleteeth and stains is a surefire way to feel self-conscious. However, with proper dental care, both at home and through regular visits to a pro, you should be able to keep your smile in ship shape and ready to wow. That is, of course, provided you can cure yourself of any number of bad habits that will undo your hard work and damage your smile. Here are a few you’ll want to kick in order to ensure the best oral health and a beautiful smile to go with it.

1. Failing to follow a proper regimen. It would be pretty hard to find an adult that doesn’t know the value of brushing, flossing, and rinsing daily. But that doesn’t mean all of us take the time to do so. In fact, some people don’t just skip flossing and rinsing; they also neglect to brush regularly. And this can lead to all kinds of unfortunate side effects, from halitosis and plaque buildup to gum disease and even tooth loss.
2. Smoking. There are few things worse for the health of your mouth or the brightness of your smile than tobacco products. Whether you smoke or chew, the nicotine in tobacco can cause your teeth to yellow and stain at the very least, as well as dry up the saliva that rinses away food particles and bacteria, leading to increased plaque, tartar, and cavities. At the worst, however, you could end up with cancer, and this is almost guaranteed to make an unsightly mess of your mouth, if not lead to your untimely death.
3. Sugar, acid, and dye – oh, my! When you hear the phrase “you are what you eat”, you might want to pay attention. It just so happens that the food you eat can not only affect your teeth, it can be reflected in your teeth, which are porous, and yes, absorbent to a degree. Sugar promotes bacterial growth, which can lead to cavities and tooth decay, while acid erodes the protective enamel, opening your teeth up to damage and staining. But the artificial dyes found in many foods will likely cause the most noticeable issue. And even natural dying agents found in coffee and tea can decrease the brilliance of your smile.
4. Oral fixation. If you constantly catch yourself chewing on pens, pencils, bottle caps, or anything else that happens to be handy, you should know that chewing non-food items can lead to chipped teeth and a variety of other problems. So keep some gum handy and consider going to behavioral therapy before you do some serious damage to your teeth.
5. Skipping dental visits. Even with all your bad habits, a good dentist can often undo or at least mitigate the damage, supposing that you go in for regular check-ups and cleanings. So if you do nothing else, at least make an appointment with Lillian Miller Dental or your local office of choice in order to clean your teeth, check for problems, and maintain your healthy, white smile.