1. Chewing ice
It’s natural and sugar free, so you might think ice is harmless. But munching on hard, frozen cubes can chip or even crack your teeth. And if your mindless chomping irritates the soft tissue inside a tooth, regular toothaches may follow. Hot foods and cold foods may trigger quick, sharp jabs of pain or a lingering toothache. Next time you get the urge for ice, chew some sugarless gum instead.
2. Breathing through the mouth
If you breathe through your mouth instead of your nose often, you are likely to suffer from a dry mouth. Not only may this result in a hoarse voice and sore throat, but it will mean that you do not have enough saliva in your mouth to help deal with bacterial infections and protect the enamel of your teeth.
3. Drinking soda
Soda is sugary and acidic. Even sugar-free soda is acidic and harmful to teeth. Daily consumption of one or more soda products can bathe your teeth in decay-causing fluid. Juice and alcohol aren’t much better. Try to drink water instead. That’s healthiest for your teeth.
4. Brush correctly
You should ideally brush your teeth after breakfast, lunch and dinner, but not immediately. Try to wait 30-60 minutes after so that the acid produced by digestion has the time to go away. You want that acid to neutralize and your teeth to remineralize. Also make sure you brush your teeth gently, using a circular stroke and with a soft bristle brush. Brush too hard and you can erode your tooth enamel.
5. Grinding your teeth
Some people grind their teeth out of habit or because they are angry, while others inadvertently grind their teeth during sleep. Unfortunately, both grinding and clenching can result in teeth becoming loose or moving. In addition, it can lead to jaw pain.
6. Snacking on starchy junk foods
Snacking produces less saliva than eating a full meal leaving the residue from the food in your mouth longer. Starchy snacks, like chips, pretzels and crackers, can produce a buildup of partially chewed food in your teeth. Minimizing junk foods can help improve your oral and physical health.
7. Chewing on pens or pencils
Just like with chewing on ice, this habit can cause teeth to crack or chip. Go for the sugarless gum if you feel the urge to chew on something. It will trigger saliva flow which makes teeth stronger and protects against enamel-eating acids.
8. Smoking cigarettes
Tobacco wreaks havoc on teeth. It stains them and can cause them to fall out as a result of gum disease. Tobacco is also a cause of cancer to the mouth, lips and tongue.
9. Biting your lips or cheeks
Sometimes people bite their lips and inner cheek as a habit without realizing what they are doing. There may be occasions when lip biting accompanies anxiety or fear, and serves as a comforting gesture. Unfortunately, these actions performed repeatedly can cause your teeth to erode faster than they would have otherwise.
10. Bad bite
A bad bite can cause the alignment between your jaw and skull to be off balance. This in turn puts a strain on other muscles present in your jaw, neck and back. Tight, sore muscles in the neck caused by a bad bite will result in muscles in the back compensating for the problem.
11. Biting nails
Biting your nails can leave you with chipped teeth, or at least teeth that wear away faster than they should.
12. Potato Chips
The bacteria in plaque will also break down starchy foods into acid. This acid can attack the teeth for the next 20 minutes — even longer if the food is stuck between the teeth or you snack often. You might want to floss after eating potato chips or other starchy foods that tend to get stuck in the teeth.
Sources
http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/ss/slideshow-teeth-wreckers
http://www.arlingtondentalteam.com/10-bad-dental-habits-wreck-teeth/
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