It might be difficult to break bad habits. Smoking, twirling hair, sucking on thumbs…all of these are frequent negative habits that might take a long time to break. Many of the things you do on a daily basis, however, might be hazardous to your teeth. Some can cause poor breath, while others can cause toothaches and other serious dental issues. It’s time to kick your bad habits, straighten up your act, and promote good oral hygiene. In many cases, having straight, healthy teeth is the first step, which can be accomplished with Invisalign.

Here are a few of the most common poor behaviors that might ruin your smile:

Gnawing at your nails

Biting your nails is not only bad for your manicure, but it’s also bad for your teeth. The enamel of your teeth can splinter and crack when you chew on your nails. Teeth can also change over time. In the worst-case scenario, though, you may endure jaw pain and headaches as a result of jaw stress. Stop chewing your nails to protect your smile.

Taking Gummy Vitamins

Many vitamins are now available in gummy form. They’re easy to chew and swallow, and they come in fun forms and flavors, but they’re bad for your teeth and gums. They’re similar to sweet gummy worms in that they get stuck in the cracks between your teeth. If you don’t brush them out later, the substances will stick to your teeth and form cavities, just like sweets.

Brushing Your Teeth Too Soon After Each Meal

You’ve been told to brush after meals your entire life. Brushing too soon and too hard after eating or drinking, on the other hand, may cause more harm than good, especially when it comes to acidic foods and beverages. For example, your teeth become softer after drinking soda. Brushing at that point could cause harm to your enamel.

To give saliva enough time to remineralize your enamel, wait around half an hour after eating citrus fruits or drinking coffee and fizzy beverages before cleaning your teeth.

Excessive Scrubbing

Brushing your teeth too hard really works against you. You’re probably brushing too hard if the bristles of your brush look flat and flare out to the sides, and fraying and matting develop in less than three months. Brushing too hard on your teeth can result in dental wear and gum recession, which can lead to tooth discomfort. Treat your teeth with care.

Using Your Teeth as Tools

To open anything from a bag of chips to packaging, many people use their teeth like a pair of scissors or a third hand. Your teeth, on the other hand, are not tools to be utilized in this manner. They are only used to chew food. When you apply too much effort to your teeth, you risk fractures and possibly underlying bone fractures, which can lead to receding gums.

Drinking Coffee or Wine

It can stain your teeth if it can stain your clothes. Coffee, soda, wine, and tea can all discolor your teeth in the long run. Teeth can be discolored by dark liquids and condiments like tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar. Although red wine contains beneficial antioxidants, the colored compounds and tannins in the wine can harm your pearly whites.

Consider again if you think you’ll easily switch from red to white wine. White wine erodes enamel and contains fruit acids that can corrode teeth.

Crunching on Ice Cubes

While it’s tempting to chew on ice with your drink, this bad habit might be harmful to your dental health in the long run. Ice is a very powerful material, and chewing on it can result in microscopic fracture lines in your teeth. If you chew ice on a regular basis, your teeth will weaken and eventually crack.

Potato and corn chips, hard sweets, and breath mints are all harsh things that might hurt your teeth.

Adding Lemon or Vinegar to the Mix

While a squeeze of lemon in your water or a mug of tea is fine, drinking vinegar-based detox drinks or citrus-infused beverages on a regular basis can erode your teeth’ enamel. This is due to the fact that very acidic meals destroy tooth enamel over time. If you do consume these beverages, make sure to fully rinse your mouth with water and wait 30 minutes before brushing your teeth.

Tongue Piercings

While tongue piercings may appear to be innocuous at first, they can cause serious damage to your mouth. Dentists advise against them because they produce a slew of dental health issues. They have the potential to shatter or break your teeth, harm your fillings from continual clicking, and interfere with dental x-rays. Also, if you pierce your tongue between your teeth on a regular basis, this can lead to a gap in your teeth.

Bad habits are difficult to change for a reason: we enjoy performing them because they provide us with a sense of security. Simply be conscious of the impact your habits are having on your smile.