Damage from Cracking

Biting your nails increases the risk of damage to your teeth from cracking or chipping. Our nails are made of a substance called keratin, which is a tough protein our body uses to also make our hair. When your nails grow, new cells push the old cells out, and these old cells can harden. This hard material isn’t meant to be chewed on, making the chances of damaging your teeth that much greater.

Wearing Down the Teeth

Our teeth are meant to chew food, not tough substances like fingernails! Since your teeth need to last you a lifetime, any excessive wearing of your teeth can cause problems. By biting your nails, you wear down your teeth faster, increasing the chances of enamel erosion, a misaligned bite, and other dental problems.

Increased Risk of Bruxism

With a habit like nail biting, the body gets used to using this outlet as a way to deal with stress and anxiety. Even if you stop biting your nails, you may grind your teeth instead. Teeth grinding is often an unconscious practice that happens during sleep or in times of stress. This puts enormous pressure on the teeth which can lead to headaches, jaw pain, enamel erosion, and eventually tooth loss.

Damaged Gum Tissue

When you chew on your nails, this often creates jagged, uneven edges. As you continue to put your fingers in your mouth and bite your nails, you risk gum damage. This is because your nails can come into contact with your gums and scrape or break the surface. This not only exposes your gums to bacteria from your nails, but it also makes your body work harder to heal the gum tissue.

Spreading Bacteria

Fingernails can carry significant amounts of bacteria, depending on how clean your hands are and how long your nails are. Whatever you touch or eat can remain on your fingers. If you’re not washing your hands often—this is particularly true for children— bacteria can accumulate. These bacteria often aren’t harmful, unless introduced in the right situation. This is exactly what can happen when you put your fingers in your mouth to chew on your nails. Bacteria are then introduced into the oral cavity that wouldn’t normally be, which could harm your smile by making your mouth more acidic or even your body by contracting infections like pinworm.

Nail biting isn’t worth the risk of damaging your teeth, and it’s a habit that you can kick. By looking into alternative stress coping mechanisms in addition to keeping your nails neatly trimmed, you can stop biting your nails and protect your smile for good!

The post How Nail Biting Affects Your Teeth appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Causes of Gum Recession

Gum recession could be happening for a variety of reasons, some of which could be out of your control. For example, genes largely determine your gum health, so if your parents have recessing gums, you could be at risk too! However, here are some things you could be doing to cause gum recession:

Brushing too hard. Brushing too hard is so damaging to your tooth’s enamel. You should always be using a soft-bristled toothbrush and brush gently. Hard brushing simply isn’t necessary to get that plaque off! Also, remember to floss gently as well.

Not seeking orthodontic treatment. If you have overcrowded teeth, this could influence gum recession.

Teeth grinding. Grinding your teeth can cause inflammation in your tooth’s root and fractures in your teeth. If you suspect you’re a grinder, get to the dentist as soon as possible to learn how you can stop doing this!

Injury or trauma. If you’ve had an injury or trauma to your mouth such as from an accident, this could cause gum recession.

Poor oral hygiene habits. Skip brushing on most days? Don’t remember the last time you flossed? Drink soda and alcohol frequently? You’re setting your mouth up for some serious problems in the future. Poor oral hygiene habits can lead to gum recession! Now that we know some of the things that can cause gum recession, let’s learn what we can do once it starts happening.

Treatment for Gum Recession

Treatment for gum recession will depend on the root cause of your gum recession. Like many other medical conditions, the earlier you catch it, the better. This is why it’s important to pay attention to the symptoms of gum recession and changes in your mouth. If hard brushing is found to be the culprit, you’ll simply need to adopt better brushing habits and switch to a softer toothbrush. It can take practice to learn to brush your teeth gently, especially if you’ve been brushing your teeth too aggressively for years!

If you’re grinding your teeth, you and your dentist can discuss how to prevent this habit and what you can do about it, such as wear a custom mouth guard while sleeping. If you have poor oral hygiene, your dentist may recommend a deep cleaning in order to help restore your gums’ health and encourage healing. If you have severe gum recession, you may need gum grafts.

Gum recession isn’t pleasant, but you can prevent damage by seeking orthodontic treatment if needed, brushing gently, and as always, getting regular checkups with your dentist. Your dentist can spot gum recession before it causes you unpleasant symptoms!

The post Spotlight on Gum Recession: Why Is It Happening and What Can You Do? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.