Things to Avoid to Protect Your Teeth.

• There are few remedies to protect your teeth from being damaged.
1. Avoid Chewing on Ice.
   1. It’s natural and sugar free, so you might think ice is harmless.
   2. But munching on hard, frozen cubes can chip or even crack your teeth.
   3. Hot foods and cold foods may trigger quick, sharp jabs of pain or a lingering toothache.
   4. If you have the urge for ice, chew some sugarless gum instead
2. Avoid Milk bottle at bed time.
   1. Giving a baby a bedtime bottle of juice, milk, or formula, can put new teeth on a path to decay.
   2. The baby may become used to falling asleep with the bottle in his or her mouth, bathing the teeth in sugars overnight.
   3. It’s best to keep bottles out of the crib.
   4. So avoid giving bottle before baby going to sleep.
   5. Before going to bed better brush the teeth of baby.
3. Tongue Piercings or chewing hard on hard metal.
   1. Biting down on the metal stud can crack a tooth.
   2. Lip piercings pose a similar risk. And when metal rubs against the gums, it can cause gum damage that may lead to tooth loss. ## The mouth is also a haven for bacteria, so piercings raise the risk of infections and sores.
4. Grinding Teeth.
   1. Teeth grinding, or bruxism, can wear teeth down over time.
   2. It is most often caused by stress and sleeping habits. This makes it hard to control.
   3. Avoiding hard foods during the day can reduce pain and damage from this habit.
   4. Preventive measures are wearing a mouth guard at night can prevent grinding while sleeping.
5. Cough Drops or Lozenges.
   1. Cough drops are loaded with sugar, no doubt there is medicinal element as well.
   2. After using cough drops or lozenge , brush your teeth,
   3. Whether the sugar comes from a cough drop or a hard candy, it reacts with the sticky plaque that coats your teeth.
   4. Then bacteria in the plaque convert the sugar into an acid that eats away at tooth enamel.
   5. This process may lead to cavity formation.
6. Gummy candy or Jelly loaded with sugar.
   1. All sugary treats (Candy or jelly ) promote tooth decay.
   2. Gummies stick in the teeth, keeping the sugar and resulting acids in contact with your enamel for hours.
   3. Taking a meal, more saliva is produced , which helps rinse away candy bits and acids.
7. Soft drinks or Soda.
   1. Candy isn’t the only culprit when it comes to added sugar.
   2. Sodas and soft drinks (Coca cola , Pepsi and etc.) can have up to 11 teaspoons of sugar per serving.
   3. Sodas also contain phosphoric and citric acids, which eat away at tooth enamel.
   4. Diet soft drinks let you skip the sugar, but they may have even more acid in the form of the artificial sweeteners. So these are also not safe to drink for the teeth.
8. Opening Stuff With Your Teeth.
   1. Opening bottle caps or plastic packaging with your teeth may be convenient, but this may cause damage to your teeth.
   2. Using your teeth as tools can cause them to crack or chip.
   3. This is better to take the help of scissors or knife or bottle opener.
   4. Net shell teeth should only be used for eating purpose.
9. Sports Drinks or Energy drinks.
   1. Cold sports drink or energy drinks are refreshing.
   2. But these drinks are usually high in sugar.
   3. Like soda or candy, sugary sports drinks create an acid attack on the enamel of your teeth.
   4. Drinking them frequently can lead to decay.
   5. A better way to stay hydrated at the gym is to drink sugar-free, calorie-free water.
10. Fruit Juices.
    1. Fruit juice is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, but unfortunately most juices are also loaded with sugar.
    2. Some juices can have as much sugar per serving as soda.
    3. For example, there are only 10 more grams of sugar in orange soda than in orange juice.
    4. Fruits are naturally sweet, so look for juice that has no added sugar.
    5. You can also reduce the sugar content by diluting juice with some water.
11. Potato Chips or Starchy foods.
    1. The bacteria in plaque will also break down starchy foods into acid.
    2. This acid can attack the teeth for the next 20 minutes.
    3. Floss after eating potato chips or other starchy foods that tend to get stuck in the teeth.
    4. So eating the potato chips or starchy foods is not good for the teeth.
12. Taking Snacks.
    1. Taking frequent snacks produces less saliva than a meal.
    2. Taking snakes leaving food bits in your teeth for hours longer.
    3. Avoid snacks too frequently.
    4. Take snacks that are low in sugar and starch e.g. carrot sticks.
13. Chewing on Pencils, ball point or pins.
    1. Do you ever chew on your pencil, ball point or pin when concentrating on work or studies?
    2. This habit can cause teeth to chip or crack.
    3. Sugarless gum is a better option when you feel the need to chew.
    4. Sugar free gum trigger the flow of saliva, which can make teeth stronger and protect against enamel-eating acids.
14. Drinking Coffee.
    1. Coffee’s dark color and acidity can cause yellowing of the teeth over time.
    2. Fortunately, it’s one of the easiest stains to treat with various whitening methods.
    3. This is advisable to clean or rinse your mouth after taking the coffee.
15. Smoking cigarettes or tobacco products.
    1. Cigarettes, as well as other tobacco products, can stain teeth and cause them to fall out as a result of gum disease.
    2. Tobacco can also cause cancer of the mouth, lips, and tongue.
    3. If you were looking for one more reason to quit, think of your smile where the teeth are not stained.
16. Drinking alcohol (Red Wine or white wine).
    1. The acids in wine eat away at tooth enamel, creating rough spots that make teeth more vulnerable to staining.
    2. Red wine also contains a deep pigment called chromogen and tannins, which help the color stick to the teeth.
    3. This combination makes it easy for the wine’s red color to stay with you long after your glass is empty.
    4. The acids still weaken the enamel, leaving the teeth porous and vulnerable to staining from other beverages, such as coffee.
    5. Toothpaste with a mild whitening agent can fight the staining effects of red and white wines.
17. Binge Eating (Over eating).
    1. Binge eating (Over eating) often involves excessive amounts of sweets, which can lead to tooth decay.
    2. Binging and purging (bulimia nervosa) can do even more damage to your dental health.
    3. The strong acids found in vomit can erode teeth, making them brittle and weak. These acids also cause bad breath.

• By taking care you can prolong the life of teeth.
• This needs just slight extra time a day to clean the teeth frequently.
• Clean and healthy teeth means good health.

Dr.Riaz Bhutta (Modified from WebMD)