Blog Summary:
Could your daily routine or habits be secretly damaging your teeth? Whether you’re an aggressive brusher, a nail biter, or someone who loves their coffee and sparkling water a little too much, this guide will walk you through what to avoid—and what to do instead.
Key Takeaways:
- Brushing Too Hard can wear down enamel and cause gum recession—go gentle with a soft-bristled brush.
- Coffee & Sparkling Water are acidic and can disrupt your mouth’s pH, promoting harmful bacteria and enamel erosion.
- Biting Your Nails stresses your jaw and can lead to dysfunction—not just chipped teeth!
- Grinding & Clenching causes cracks, jaw pain, and muscle soreness—consider a mouthguard if you grind at night.
- Using Teeth as Tools puts you at serious risk of breaking or chipping a tooth—always use proper tools instead.
- Brushing Right After Eating (especially after acidic meals) can do more harm than good—wait 30 minutes first.
- Sharing Food or Drinks spreads bacteria and viruses—especially risky if you or others have compromised immunity.
Want to protect your teeth instead? Check out the link to my blog post “Developing a Healthy Oral Hygiene Routine: 7 Daily Best Practices” found later in this post for a science-backed approach to daily oral care—including rinsing, flossing, tongue scraping, and brushing the right way.
Could you be unknowingly harming your oral health? While you’re likely already aware that sugary foods contribute to the development of cavities and smoking can cause oral cancer, there are many other bad oral habits that you might be engaging in occasionally, or even regularly, without even knowing it!
So, what are some of the most common things you might be doing that are exasperating your dentist, and possibly causing damage to your teeth? Here are ten you should know.
1. Brushing Teeth Too Hard
Always aim to brush your teeth using gentle pressure rather than firm pressure. Why? Because brushing too hard can cause your enamel to wear prematurely, which often leaves the teeth vulnerable to the development of cavities and other issues. What’s more, you can actually brush so hard that you cause premature gumline recession. This in turn, often exposes the sensitive nerves under the tooth, creating unnecessary mouth pain.
2. Drinking Too Much Coffee or Sparking Water
Americans love their coffee. Most consume at least two cups per day. But could all this love of java be contributing to mouth problems? Is coffee bad for teeth? Unfortunately, yes. That’s because coffee is acidic, and can disrupt the oral microbiome and adversely affect the pH of the mouth. But is sparkling water bad for your teeth? While mineral water and club soda might be fairly safe, you’re best-off avoiding citrus-flavored sparkling waters, which are also acidic.
It’s important to keep the mouth’s pH around 6.7 to 7.4 so that it doesn’t become a breeding ground for acid-loving bad bacteria that contribute to everything from tooth damage, to cavities and gum disease.
3. Biting Your Nails
This nervous habit is hard to break, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. According to the American Dental Association’s Mouth Healthy website, and maybe not for the reason you think. So why exactly is biting your nails bad for your teeth?
Well, while many think that biting the nails is bad because it can wear down enamel or contribute to sensitivity, the hidden danger in this habit lies in the fact that it keeps your jaw in a protruding position, which in turn places pressure on it that can contribute to jaw dysfunction. Ouch!
4. Grinding Your Teeth
Do you grind your teeth at night? If so, you could be at risk for tooth chips and cracks, not to mention muscle and jaw pain. This is why dentists often prescribe mouth guards to individuals who commonly engage in this often-nocturnal oral habit. For what it’s worth, clenching your teeth is also bad and should be avoided.
5. Using Your Teeth to Open Things
We all have that friend (or are that friend) who opens chip bags and maybe even pops open soda cans with their teeth. This is a major problem, because your teeth were not designed to be used as tools. If you engage in this habit often, your chances of cracking or chipping a tooth are much higher than they otherwise would be. So do yourself a favor and go for the bottle opener or scissors…or ask for help instead.
Note: It’s a bad idea to chew on anything that’s non-food-related. That goes for everything from pen caps to ice cubes.
6. Brushing Right After Eating
While brushing your teeth is generally considered to be a good thing, you shouldn’t brush your teeth for at least 30 minutes after a meal. That’s especially true if you’ve just eaten or drank something acidic. So avoid the temptation to brush right after your morning coffee or brunch mimosa. And when it comes to nightly brushing, try to eat earlier if eating later is too close to bedtime.
7. Sharing Food & Drinks
Why is this bad? Because sharing cups, silverware, and straws can spread bacteria as well as viruses. This is especially true if you have an autoimmune disease or a weakened immune system. So, unless you’re among the company of family or one or two good friends you trust – and even then – think twice before sharing food or drinks.
Establish a Healthy Routine with SuperMouth
What do healthy oral habits look like? Find out now by reading my blog post “Developing a Healthy Oral Hygiene Routine: 7 Daily Best Practices”.
Consider also adding SuperMouth, created by me, Dr. Kami Hoss, to your daily oral care routine. SuperMouth offers a full range of dentist-designed oral health products. Get everything you need for strong dental health delivered straight to your door!
