Bad habits can be hard to overcome. However, bad habits surrounding your oral health can be dangerous, no matter how innocent they may seem. The following are some bad habits that can cause major dental problems.

Grinding Your Teeth

Have you ever woken yourself up at night by moving your jaw and rubbing your teeth together? This is teeth grinding, and it can be disastrous for your teeth. The worst part about this habit is that you often do not realize you are doing it. When you grind your teeth, you are essentially wearing them down. Teeth grinding is fairly common and happens during times of anxiety and stress. As soon as you are aware that you are grinding your teeth, you should go to your dentist to be fitted for a mouthguard. This is a mouthpiece that you sleep in to prevent grinding your teeth at night.

Biting on Random Items

There are those who have the bad habit of putting different items in their mouths and chewing on them. Biting your nails or chewing on a pencil can be detrimental to the health of your teeth. Not only are you doing damage to your teeth, but you are also ingesting germs that can make you sick.

Eating Ice

Chewing on ice is a common habit for many people, but it can be terrible for your teeth. Ice is very hard and can easily chip your teeth. If your teeth are already weak, chewing on hard ice is only going to cause you problems. Even if you have healthy teeth, ice chewing is a bad habit that you should try to break. If you need to keep your mouth occupied, consider sugarless gum.

Eating Candy

While eating candy in moderation is acceptable as long as you brush immediately afterward, you should try to avoid sticky candy as much as possible. Sticky candy will adhere to the teeth for a longer period of time and will increase your likelihood of getting tooth decay. You can also pull out bridges, fillings, and other dental work.

You should also avoid eating too much hard candy. When you bite down on hard candy, you risk breaking a tooth. If you do want to enjoy hard candy, suck on it until it is gone rather than biting on it.

The best way to protect your teeth in addition to breaking these bad habits is to see your family dentist regularly for cleanings.