Stud & Strength

Your Healthy Dental Habits Could Be Putting Your Teeth at Risk

Do you take good care of your teeth? Well, your healthy dental habits could be putting your teeth at risk! According to First magazine and dentist Dr. Jimmy Wu, 60% of adults suffer from tooth erosion. That’s when the protective tooth enamel starts to wear away, increasing your risk of decay. Dr. Wu says erosion can also cause sensitivity, discoloration, and even etch grooves into your teeth. So, here are a few simple tweaks:

• Where you start brushing. Brushing too hard can remove tooth enamel. So does starting to brush in the same spot every time. Dr. Van Haywood, a professor of oral rehabilitation at the Medical College of Georgia, says that people tend to press harder when they start brushing, which leads to more wear on the teeth they brush first. The fix: Brush more softly at first. Or start brushing on the inside of your lower front teeth. That’s where the most plaque builds up, so it’ll benefit from vigorous cleaning.
• Mouthwash. Most commercial mouthwashes use alcohol to eliminate bacteria, but alcohol dries up your saliva, which raises the acid level in your mouth and softens tooth enamel. In fact, British scientists found that some mouthwashes are highly acidic themselves and can be as corrosive as citrus juice!. So, play it safe and use an alcohol-free mouthwash that kills bacteria without raising the acid level in your mouth. Also, too much gargling can lead to “oral-membrane necrosis,” which basically means dead flesh in your mouth! Because excessive gargling kills the skin cells inside your mouth, leaving dead, stinky tissue which makes your breath smell even worse. So only swish once a day.
• Flossing right after meals. Acidic foods like apples, tomatoes and vinegar briefly soften tooth enamel – and it can take 30 minutes for the enamel to start to harden up again. So, flossing or using a toothpick right after eating can scrape away the softened enamel between your teeth. Instead, chew a stick of sugarless gum. It stimulates the production of acid-neutralizing saliva and dislodges trapped food particles, so you can wait ‘til it’s safe to floss or brush your teeth.