7 Lifestyle Factors That Can Affect Your Dental Health

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The lifestyle habits that you embrace can make a whole lot of difference to your health and your oral health is not an exception to that. The way you lead your life can have a great impact on your oral health.

Apart from the good oral hygiene it is the habits and lifestyle that will determine the health of the gums and teeth. You thus can’t expect that just brushing, flossing and rinsing will help to upkeep your oral hygiene when you are not that great with the other areas of life.

Hence if you are not good with the other areas of life, you can end up with a plethora of oral issues that can range from the risk of tooth decay, a weakened tooth structure, stinking breath and even a bad smile.

So here are some lifestyle factors that can affect your oral health in an adverse manner. Just take a look.

  • Smoking – It is well-documented that smoking comes with many negative effects on the overall health. Your teeth can get stained by smoking and even more specifically by the tar and nicotine present in the cigarettes. The smoking can also lead to the gum disease as that can cause a bacteria build-up. A lack of oxygen in the bloodstream also limits the ability of the gums to naturally heal.  About 90 percent of the people with cancer of the lips, mouth, throat and tongue are said to use tobacco. Moreover, the risk of developing these cancers increases with the intake amount. The smokers are about 6 times more prone to develop this cancer than those of the non-smokers. The research has also found that reducing the amount of smoking can bring about any positive effects on your overall and your oral health although quitting completely is most desired.
  • Bad Food Choices – Your oral health can suffer if you are not careful with the food you choose. If you are concerned with your oral health, a balanced diet comes to your rescue. Eating the vegetables, fruits, raw nuts, almonds, yoghurt, cheese and other items with vitamin A and C, pineapples will help a lot. On the other hand, bringing on the fried items, chips and crackers wont help much as far as your oral health is concerned. So eat right in order to retain the perfect smile.
  • Chewing Ice – During the sweltering summers, chewing ice can sound great but it is horrible for your pearly whites. Your teeth can chip, break or crack when biting down on the ice. So the next time you want to cool down on a hot day you can preserve the healthy smile by sucking on the ice cubes as opposed to crunching them.
  • Alcohol Consumption – People who drink alcohol are more likely to have poor oral hygiene as compared to the non-drinkers. This means your liquor habit can harm the teeth as you are not likely to care for the gums and the teeth.  Secondly, the consumption of alcohol dehydrates the mouth. This is the condition in which the production of saliva is affected severely.  As a result of that, your mouth is not able to scrub away the bacteria which lets them enter the body and cause issues like heart problems. So quit alcohol consumption if you care for your oral health.
  • Having Sugary and Acidic Foods – Too much junk food consumption can rot your teeth in no time. Your enamel can be eroded and weakened by eating too much acidic foods. Do you think that you are consuming too many cakes, lollies and soda? Then limit the consumption. Do the same for the acidic foods like vinegar, citrus fruits and even coffee. Though these foods are addictive and it can take a lot to limit their consumption, in the long run you will benefit immensely because of that.
  • Biting Nails – There are plenty of nail biters out there and most of them do it subconsciously. The constant biting can harm the enamel, cause the teeth to move and even splinter in worst cases.  This is also the case with people according to whom their teeth are their toolkit and they use them for opening soda bottles and similar tasks. It can simply be an act of laziness or a party trick. But remember that teeth just have two functions – to chew and to help us speak and acting as a tool is not one of them.
  • Over-brushing – You need to cut down if you are brushing the teeth too hard for too long. Ideally you should brush about 2-3 times a day for just a couple of minutes. If you brush just after having a meal, then you are harming the teeth. So, wait for about an hour before brushing after a meal so that the saliva can neutralise that acids prior to brushing. You can damage the gums by eroding them if you brush too vigorously or your toothbrush is very hard. This can result in sensitivity over time leading to long-term pain and cavities. You can set a timer on your phone or use electric brushes with timer if you are worried about brushing.

The above are some of the lifestyle factors that can affect your oral health in an adverse manner. So along with regular visits to the best dental clinic you should also stick to the good lifestyle habits so that you can retain a million-dollar and healthy smile for years to come.

 

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