Bad Habits For Your Teeth

Is kicking bad habits part of your New Years Resolution? Recently, the American Dental Association's blog released a list of some of the worst habits for your teeth. While many of these ticks may seem harmless, they can all cause permanent damage to your teeth, gums or jaw muscles. Over time, these can become very expensive problems- requiring everything from crowns to gum surgery. Take a look at some of the worst offenders and how to manage them!

1. Nail Biting- On top of being unhygienic (your fingernails harbor an entire ecosystem of bacteria), nail biting forces the teeth and jaw to function in ways that they were never designed to. Under repeated stress, the front teeth will crack and chip easily. Even crowns and fillings can become repeatedly damaged. Additionally, protruding your lower jaw to make the front teeth connect puts unneeded strain on your muscles. Consider wearing a bitter tasting nail polish or lotion to put a stop to the biting!

2. Hard/Rigorous Brushing- Many people believe that using generous force and scrubbing the teeth/gums can compensate for a shorter brush time. On the contrary, brushing your teeth too hard will wear away at the teeth and enamel prematurely. Even if you can't brush for a whole two minutes, stick to a gentle pressure. If possible, invest in an electric toothbrush that has a built in pressure sensor like certain Oral-B and Sonicare models. 

3. Grinding and Clenching- These habits typically occur subconsciously or while you are asleep, which makes them more difficult to manage. Unfortunately, our jaw muscles develop a tremendous amount of force which can erode or completely shatter enamel. The best way to manage these habits is by treating stress directly. Try meditation, exercise or any other calming techniques. If you still can't stop clenching, custom night guards will protect your teeth from fracturing while lessening tension headaches.

4. Chewing Ice Cubes- While Ice breaks easily under the force of our teeth, it is a very hard substance. Repeatedly crushing ice with your teeth will break cusps, loosen fillings and even fracture crowns. Your best bet is to chill your beverages without ice or use a straw to avoid temptation. 

5. Snacking- Tooth decay relies on three things: bacteria, sugar/carbohydrate and time. When you constantly graze on food, you are increasing the amount of time your oral bacteria can feed and cause decay. While the best option is to avoid snacking all together, you can mitigate damage by switching to non-sticky foods with low sugar content. 

6. Using Teeth as Tools- Always a bad idea. Your mouth was designed for speaking, eating and breathing, not opening plastic bags. Take some extra time and avoid using your mouth as a third hand!

Broken Teeth

Here you can see a maxillary first premolar fractured between its two cusps. Fractures commonly occur here due to natural stress points in the enamel and dentin. This tooth was fractured down into the root space and needed to be extracted. 

Like any hard object, enamel tends to crack or fracture when subjected to a large amount of force. Hence, broken teeth are a very common source of dental pain. Symptoms can range from mild discomfort to pain when chewing or a constant radiating soreness. They are sometimes preceded by an audible "crack" or "pop" while chewing a hard object. No matter your current state, a cracked tooth needs to be addressed by a dentist before the symptoms will subside.

One of the trickiest parts of treating cracked teeth is that they are difficult to see. Traditional X-Rays frequently miss cracks, as they are trying to represent your three dimensional tooth in a 2-D image. Visual inspection will reveal some cracks, particularly vertical fractures through the crowns. However, smaller crack and cracks in the root area are impossible to spot with the naked eye. The most reliable way to see if a tooth has broken is by imaging with a Cone Beam CT scanner. Here, a specialist (often times an endodontist or oral surgeon) will take a 3D image of your tooth, revealing any cracks or defects throughout its structure. 

Once a tooth is confirmed as cracked, it will typically need to be extracted. Large splits in enamel running into root structure are impossible to repair or remineralize. Still, some shallower cracks in ideal locations can be treated with a crown and/or root canal. Here, the actual cracked portion of the tooth is removed, preventing the possibility of the defect propagating and getting bigger. However, it is important to note that these conditions are rarely met and extraction is the most typical course of treatment for a broken tooth. 

The most important thing to remember is don't wait and suffer in pain! Especially if you have pain while chewing or feel your teeth "flex" or "shift" when you bite down, there is a good chance you cracked your tooth. This discomfort will not resolve on its own; in fact there is a good chance it will worsen with time. If you have any type of dental discomfort, call our office as soon as possible. We can help you alleviate pain, reach a proper diagnosis and plan for the best course of action for getting your mouth back to normal.