6 Work Habits that could ruin your Teeth

September 10, 2019 shivani venkatesh

Everyone these days is stressing at work and in the end your work-related habits will have a significant long term effect on your health. Some of these habits are done subconsciously and the consequences are unfortunately irreversible. We want to talk about some of the habits people have which can cause deleterious effects on your teeth.

Chewing on pens and pencils- Constant biting on pens and pencils can cause cracks and maybe fractures on your teeth. Also ‘chewing’ on these can cause a lot of wear on your teeth resulting in increased sensitivity as well as height reduction. And third- the back of pens and pencils are riddled with bacteria and sucking/biting on this is just plain gross!

Chewing gum- This is both good and bad. The good? Chewing sugar-free gum increases salivary production, lowers plaque levels as well as helps in cleaning teeth which prevents decay. Also various studies have proved that chewing gum is linked to increased concentration for short periods of time. However, constant chewing of gum can cause TMJ (jaw joint) issues and if the gum has sugar- you are headed for increased incidence of dental decay.

Sipping all day- Unless you're sipping on water the entire day, this is bad for you! Many people have drinks on their desks which they sip all day long and if these drinks are filled with sugar, is acidic like lemon water or is an energy drink or soda- it exposes the teeth to lower pH levels all day long which increases your exposure to cavity-causing environments.

Neglecting to brush after meals- Ideally you should brush and floss after every meal. Try and keep an oral kit in your desk or bag at work which contains toothpaste, toothbrush and floss. If this is not practical- atleast rinse your mouth with water after every meal.

Nail biting- lots of people do this when they are stressed or concentrating deeply (maybe even bored !) This causes stress on your jaw joint which can lead to chronic pain and headaches. It can also cause notches on your teeth which while being unaesthetic, can also cause tooth fractures.

Smoking- Do we really need to tell you that smoking is bad for you? It is directly linked to gum disease, tooth loss and oral cancer to name a few. You maybe tempted to take a cigarette break every few hours to de-stress, but try and seek help to learn how you can get over this addiction which has lasting devastating effects on your overall health.

If you suffer from bad work habits or see that your oral health is struggling because of it- please visit Summit Dental Clinic and we can help fix your gums and teeth, while giving you advice on how to prevent the same in the future.