How to Protect Your Perfect Teeth

If you have had esthetic enhancements to your teeth or are fortunate enough to have your own set of perfect teeth, you may be wondering how to maintain your smile. To maintain a healthy smile, you have to know what might damage your teeth. Identifying and eliminating bad oral habits is the key to retaining a great smile for many years. Some habits which may be harming the health of our teeth:
• Grinding your teeth
• Casually biting your fingernails or a pen
• Crunching ice?
• A diet high in sugar (such as soda, chewing gum and candy)
• Drinking coffee, red wine and tea. Smoking or chewing tobacco
• Forcing your tongue against your upper teeth
We can’t predict the exact effects bad oral habits will have on your perfect teeth, however, the longer the duration of the habit, the greater negative effect it will have on the longevity of your smile.
How Can I Eliminate My Bad Oral Habits and Protect My Perfect Teeth?
The first step to eliminating a bad habit is to identify and acknowledge that you have one. If your habit is crunching ice, you must alter or eliminate it from your day-to-day routine.
Other habits are harder to break like grinding your teeth. Grinding the teeth is generally an involuntary action and usually occurs when asleep. Because the habit is difficult to break, a plastic nightguard is the best solution to prevent excessive wear of your teeth.
A nightguard is a clear plastic mouthpiece that is custom-fitted to snap over your teeth, much like an athletic mouthguard. The nightguard is designed so your teeth grind on the plastic, not your teeth. The nightguard will wear out, but your teeth will not.
Do not neglect your teeth, especially if you have had esthetic enhancements. They will not last forever, so in order to preserve your perfect teeth, have regular dental check-ups and do your best to eliminate bad oral habits.

Contact us at Rye Smiles for Life by calling (703) 565-2503 if you have any questions about how to protect your teeth and your smile so that your perfect smile will last a lifetime.