Dental Damage And Decay: 4 Alternate Causes
Posted on: 4 September 2015
As most people know, teeth are highly vulnerable to such things as sugar, tobacco smoke, and lack of dental hygiene. Yet these are far from the only things that can place your precious teeth in peril. If you would like to ensure your teeth stay healthy and whole, read on. This article will introduce four destructive forces that may not have occurred to you before.
Cough Drops
Many cough drops are simply well disguised agents of tooth decay. That's because, though they are marketed in terms of their medicinal benefit, they often contain sugar levels that would be more at home in the candy aisle. As a result, susceptible consumers never stop to consider the potential damage they may be doing to their teeth. The next time you're looking for relief from a bothersome cough, be sure to select a sugar-free variety of cough drops.
Ice
Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with cooling your drink with ice -- that is, unless you're one of those people who chow down on the ice left over at the bottom of their cup. You see, over time chewing on ice can cause stress cracks to form in your dental enamel. Not only that, but biting down on an especially dense piece of ice may chip your tooth or lead to a painful shocked nerve. Be safe and curb this bad habit before you have a reason to regret it.
Oral Piercings
Many people looking to bring a little edge to their appearance choose to get a mouth piercing, whether in their lip, their cheek, or even their tongue. While these may look cool, unfortunately they also boost the chances of developing scar tissue, mouth sores, and nasty bacterial infections. Tongue studs are especially dangerous, because one wrong bite can end up causing painful and costly damage to your teeth.
Not Wearing A Mouth Guard During Contact Sports
As any sports fan knows, the risk of injury is an inherent part of the game. But that's still no reason to expose yourself unnecessarily. While there may not be much you can do to avoid hurting muscles and bones, your teeth are another scenario. Investing a few dollars in a quality plastic mouth guard will greatly reduce the chances that a collision will lead to broken or knocked out teeth.
Bottom Line
As dentists love to point out, you only get one set of teeth. Thus it pays off to protect them however you can. Eliminating potentially damaging habits is a great way to augment a regime of regular brushing, flossing, and seeing your family dentistry specialist for checkups.
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