What kind of a relationship do you have with your teeth? Do you hate them? Nearly half of us do, and usually because we think they’re discolored and don’t like their look. A full 32% of us will say we’re “concerned with the look of our teeth,” whatever that means exactly, but there are things we can do about that. We visit the family dentist once a year (or sometimes a lot less often) to get them cleaned, but we ought to be paying more attention to our teeth. Many of us don’t like our teeth: but our teeth don’t like us, either. Here are five reasons they don’t:
We Don’t Pay Attention to Their Signals
Our teeth are telling us something when they become sensitive and start hurting. They might have decay or cracks that need to be seen by the family dentist. In fact, the earlier we see the dentist, the less problematic the issue will be. See a family dentist now, and you won’t need an emergency dentist later.
We Brush Too Hard
Your teeth don’t like it when you abuse them. A good dentist can show you just how to brush, but in general just remember to take it easy. You do need to brush frequently, but don’t do it too hard. You can wear down the enamel and expose the dentin at the gum line!
We Don’t Get Them Cleaned Enough
What’s a skipped cleaning here and there, right? Skipping the cleanings lets plaque build up on our teeth. Plaque is a film of bacteria, colorless, that can be very hard to remove when it is ignored for too long. It can damage your teeth if it is allowed to sit there, so get it taken care of on time, will you?
We Eat and Drink What Hurts Them
We can’t go a half hour anymore without drinking something acidic. Wine, coffee, whisky, soda, juice, tea, smoothies, lemonade: all of them are hard on the teeth. When we’re not drinking we’re eating things that are hard on our teeth and their enamel, like lots of sugar and grain. Take it easy on the acid.
We Grind Our Teeth
Your poor teeth are taking a beating if you’re constantly grinding them. We do this both awake and asleep and usually because we’re stressed. If that’s you, go find the best dentists to help you sort out this problem. Your family dentist can usually tell if you’ve been grinding your teeth just by looking at them, and there are ways to stop it.
Your teeth are your friends. They make you look good, and without them you’d find eating and talking pretty tricky. Don’t take them for granted. Love your teeth, and they’ll love you back.