3 Snacking Habits That Are Wearing Your Teeth Away

1. Ice Ice Baby!!

Its a great motto to get the party started, but once the party is over your teeth could be in real danger.  Chewing ice is a horrible habit that can lead to the need for cosmetic surgery, as it causes cracks and chips in your teeth.  If you’re a chronic ice chewer, you’ve been wearing down the enamel on your teeth since the habit began.  Preserve your pearly whites by drinking from a straw or requesting smaller amounts of ice when you go out to eat.

2. Hard Candy

While hard candy is a great treat to get us through a long day at work, chewing hard candy produces effects similar to, and even greater than chewing ice.  Because hard candies take a longer time to dissolve in our mouth we often store them on the side of our cheeks putting the sugar directly on top of our teeth. This wears down the enamel, and allows the sugar to dissolve right onto our teeth causing cavities. For those of us too anxious to wait, we bite down on these hard solids and cause cracks and chips in our teeth. If chewing hard candy is habit of yours, minimize the effects by purchasing sugar free candy or brushing more frequently.

3. Sodas, Colas, and Pop

A little drink of Coke here and there couldn’t hurt, right?  Especially since the caffeine helps keep me awake… right?  The answer is yes. Drinking soda throughout the day is just as healthy as gargling in sugar.  In fact every time you drink soda you are submerging your teeth in sugar that wears down the protective layer of enamel on your teeth.  As you drink throughout the day, plaque forms and contributes to tooth decay. To replace soda, try fruit juices and smoothies that will help keep you full and energized.

With the plethora of mid-day snacks on the market, there are also a wide variety of effects that these can have on your teeth.  The best option to find out which habits are healthiest is to pay a visit to a dentist’s office. Lifetime Smiles specializes in personalized dentistry. Come visit us to find out how your smile and your habits can be their healthiest.