Want to Avoid Tooth Loss, Says the Dental Implant Surgeon in Houston? 19 Habits To Stop, PART 4

This four-part article series discusses 19 habits that, through various mechanisms (both short and long term) lead to the degradation of the health of your teeth, gums and jaw bone.

Welcome to the final installment of this four-part article series on the top 19 habits to stop if you want to avoid ever needing Houston dental implants as a result of tooth decay and subsequent loss. In our previous three posts, the dental implant surgeon in Houston discussed the following 13 points:

1. Chewing on ice,
2. Tongue and lip piercings,
3. Playing sports without a mouth guard,
4. Giving babies bedtime bottles
5. Teeth grinding,
6. Regularly sucking on cough drops,
7. Chewing on gummy candy,
8. Sipping on soft drinks,
9. Using your teeth as tools,
10. Drinking sports and energy drinks,
11. Regularly drinking fruit juices,
12. Indulging in potato chips,
13. Constant snacking.

In this, the final installment of the series, we shall explore the final 6 habits to avoid if you want to (1) keep your teeth in excellent lifelong condition and (2) avoid ever needing Houston dental implants.

Dental Implant Surgeon in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 14 ~ Chewing on Pencils

Just as the dental implant surgeon in Houston warns you against chewing on ice, so too should you avoid munching on the end of your pencil. Chronic habits like this can do substantial damage to the dental enamel, rendering the tooth more vulnerable to bacteria, decay and infection and possibly even the need for replacement with a Houston dental implant.

Recommendation: If you have the urge to chew, opt for sugarless gum, advises the dental implant surgeon in Houston: it tastes better!

Dental Implant Surgeon in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 15 ~ Coffee Addiction

There’s nothing wrong with the occasional cup of coffee, says the dental implant surgeon in Houston, but drinking multiple cups every day can contribute to severe staining of the dental enamel. Coffee is heavy in acid and dark tannins, which can render your pearly whites a less attractive shade of yellow.

Recommendations: There are a number of things you can do to prevent dental staining from coffee-drinking, says the dental implant surgeon in Houston. (1) Chase sips of coffee with water, (2) add milk to your coffee to lessen its staining effect and (3) limit the amount of coffee you drink every day. If your teeth are already quite stained from your five-a-day habit, then ask your dentist about the various whitening methods they have, suggests the dental implant surgeon in Houston.

Dental Implant Surgeon in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 16 ~ Smoking

There is no greater death sentence to your teeth than smoking, warns the dental implant surgeon in Houston. Smoking causes dental staining, bad breath, inflamed gums, oral cancer and periodontal (gum) disease, the latter two of which leads to tooth loss and the need for Houston dental implants. Ironically, however, smoking also compromises the success of implant procedures, so you may not even be able to replace the teeth that have gone missing as a result of your lifelong habit!

Recommendations: Break free of this crippling habit and you can save your teeth, your smile and your life, urges the dental implant surgeon in Houston.

Dental Implant Surgeon in Houston n: Habit to Avoid # 17 ~ Drinking Red Wine

One glass of red wine with dinner is actually very good for you, says the dental implant surgeon in Houston. But frequent exposure to the acids that are naturally found in wine can result in the erosion of your dental enamel, creating rough spots on the tooth crowns that render them more susceptible to staining. Red wine, in particular, is full of tannins and a dark pigment called chromogens. These are responsible for that comical purple smile you have after a glass or two.

Recommendation: Everything in moderation. And pair your wine with water.

Dental Implant Surgeon in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 18 ~ Drinking White Wine

Unfortunately, white wine isn’t that much better either. The high acidic content of this beverage still leave the enamel weakened and more vulnerable to staining from other dark-colored foods and drinks, such as your post-dinner coffee.

Recommendation: As with red wine, says the dental implant surgeon in Houston, pair your white wine with water. You can also invest in dental whitening toothpaste, which contains low concentrations of bleaching agent. This will combat the accumulation of staining from red and white wine.

Dental Implant Surgeon in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 19 ~ Binge Eating

Eating disorders not only wreak havoc upon the body, they do irreparable damage to your teeth as well, says the dental implant surgeon in Houston. Many people who had eating disorders in their teens have ended up requiring Houston dental implants to replace teeth that were lost as a result of malnutrition and tooth decay from constant acid exposure (in the case of bulimics). Binge eating is no better as one tends to indulge in foods that are high in sugar, such as sweets.

Recommendation: Seek immediate professional help from a general doctor and a psychologist. Eating disorders are terribly destructive and can do lifelong damage to your body and youthful smile.

A Final Note on Houston Dental Implants

Houston dental implants offer the most comprehensive and long term solution to single and multiple missing teeth. Yet, in spite of their sophistication as a dental technology, they simply cannot rival the aesthetics and functionality of your own natural teeth. Follow the advice laid out in this four part article series, says the dental implant surgeon in Houston, and you’ll keep your teeth beautiful and healthy for life!

Want to Avoid Tooth Loss and the Need for Implant Dentistry in Houston? 19 Habits To Stop, PART 3

This four-part article series discusses 19 habits that, through various mechanisms (both short and long term) lead to the degradation of the health of your teeth, gums and jaw bone.

Welcome to the third installment of this four-part article series on the top 19 habits to cease if you want to avoid developing the array of oral diseases and maladies that lead to tooth loss and the need for Houston dental implants. In the first two articles, we discussed 8 of these habits and, according to professionals in Implant dentistry in Houston, they are:

1. Chewing on ice,
2. Tongue and lip piercings,
3. Playing sports without a mouth guard,
4. Giving babies bedtime bottles
5. Teeth grinding,
6. Regularly sucking on cough drops,
7. Chewing on gummy candy,
8. Sipping on soft drinks.

In this article, the third installment of the series, we shall discuss another 5 habits to cease if you want to avoid the need for Houston dental implants and reach late adulthood with a complete set of beautiful, healthy teeth.

Implant Dentistry in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 9 ~ Using Your Teeth as Tools

That party trick of yours may impress your friends, but using your teeth to open bottles, pry open stubborn containers and tear packaging is one habit that makes professionals in implant dentistry in Houston absolutely cringe! This kind of treatment can cause your pearly whites to become cracked, chipped and/or fractured, making them more vulnerable to oral bacteria.

Recommendation: Avoiding the need for Houston dental implants means only using your teeth for what they are intended: eating. Use a bottle opener and scissors next time!

Implant Dentistry in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 10 ~ Sports and Energy Drinks

There’s nothing like an ice-cold energy drink after a solid workout on the treadmill or bike, but the problem with these kinds of beverages is that they’re high in sugar and in acid. Frequently indulging in sport drinks may provide you with the kick you need to attain those exercise goals, but they can increase your risk of tooth decay, warn professionals in implant dentistry in Houston.

Recommendations: The very best way to stay hydrated at the gym is to drink good old fashioned water. It comes without the calories and sugar.

Implant Dentistry in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 11 ~ Fruit Juice

Just like sports and energy drinks, fruit juices are heavy in sugar and are highly acidic. They may be rich in vitamins, but you need to be careful about how frequently you indulge in them, explain professionals in implant dentistry in Houston.

Recommendations: If you love your fruit juice, opt for those that are unsweetened and also perhaps add a little water to dilute it. Don’t treat juice as a thirst quencher, stress professionals in implant dentistry in Houston. Regular consumption of sugary, acidic beverages increases your risk of needing Houston dental implants in the future.

Implant Dentistry in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 12 ~ Indulging in Potato Chips!

Bacteria are notorious for their love of all things unhealthy. In addition to their affinity for sugar, they are quite fond of starchy foods and will break down the particles that are left in your mouth after a snack on acids. This acid corrodes away at the dental enamel, explain professionals in implant dentistry in Houston, which can leave your oral health at risk.

Recommendation: Try to limit your intake of potato chips – they’re not great for you anyway. But if you can’t resist a snack, make sure you brush your teeth afterwards, or at least wash it down with some water. Good hygiene will help prevent you from ever needing Houston dental implants.

Implant Dentistry in Houston: Habit to Avoid # 13 ~ Constant Snacking

Every time you eat, the pH levels in your mouth drop (become acidic), say professionals in implant dentistry in Houston. Eating a full meal produces greater amounts of saliva, which help to wash away the sugary residues and food particles left behind in your mouth. Snacking doesn’t.

Recommendation: Avoid snacking too frequently and when you do, stick to foods that are healthy and low in sugar, like whole-grain bars or carrot sticks, advise professionals in implant dentistry in Houston.

Implant Dentistry in Houston: Stay Tuned

To read about the final 6 habits that could, one day, see you requiring Houston dental implants, stay tuned for the fourth installment of this article series.

Want to Avoid Tooth Loss and the Need for Houston Dental Implants? 19 Habits To Stop, PART 2

This four-part article series discusses 19 habits that, through various mechanisms (both short and long term) lead to the degradation of the health of your teeth, gums and jaw bone.

Welcome back to our four-part article series on the top 19 habits to avoid if you want to prevent yourself from ever needing to replace irreparably damaged and decayed teeth with Houston dental implants. In our previous article post, we launched the series with the first four habits to avoid:

1. Chewing on ice,
2. Tongue and lip piercings,
3. Playing sports without a mouth guard,
4. Giving babies bedtime bottles.

Now, we shall continue on with the next five nasty habits to avoid. In conjunction with a rigorous home oral hygiene routine and regular appointments with the dentist and dental hygienist, adhering to this guide will help you keep all of your original adult teeth in fantastic condition. Save yourself the expense and experience of Houston dental implants with proper lifelong care of your pearly whites!

Houston Dental Implants: Habit to Avoid # 5 ~ Grinding Your Teeth

Teeth grinding, also referred to as Bruxism, is a nasty habit that can erode the teeth down over time. In some advanced cases, patients have worn their teeth down to nubs and require Houston dental implants! Teeth grinding is something people tend to do unconsciously, or at nighttime in their sleep and it is believed to be related to stress. Teeth grinders render their pearly whites incredibly vulnerable to bacteria and infection, which access the pulp chamber of the teeth via cracks, fissures and fractures caused by the incessant grinding.

Recommendation: The dentist can immediately see evidence of tooth grinding. Have a mouth guard fitted and wear it to bed every night to prevent irreparable damage to your pearly whites and the need for Houston dental implants.

Houston Dental Implants: Habit to Avoid # 6 ~ Cough Drops

This may sound like a bit of a surprising habit to avoid, but sucking on cough drops is no healthier for your teeth than candy! Just because it’s a medicine, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have ramifications for your oral health. Most cough drops are loaded with sugar to make them more palatable. Bacteria love sugar, so whenever you pop one of these medicinal candies into your mouth, their activity spikes. The by-products of their ingestion of this sugar are high in acid, which corrodes away dental enamel. The result? Cavities and an increase risk of decay!

Recommendation: There are other, less tasty and sugar-free options for the treatment of colds and coughs. But if it means avoiding tooth decay and the need for Houston dental implants…

Houston Dental Implants: Habit to Avoid # 7 ~ Gummy, Chewy Candy

There isn’t a single sugary indulgence that is good for your pearly whites, but some are certainly worse than others. Gummy candy sticks in the natural grooves and crevasses of the teeth, resulting in the advanced localized production of acidic bacterial waste. This can stay in contact with your teeth for hours, increasing your chance of cavity formation, decay and even eventual tooth loss (and the need for Houston dental implants.)

Recommendation: If you can’t resist a gummy treat, have it during the course of a meal. Chewing other food and an increased saliva production should help to wash resistant gummy candy away.

Houston Dental Implants: Habit to Avoid # 8 ~ Fizzy Soft Drinks

Candy isn’t the only indulgence brimming with sugar. Soft drinks have as many as 11 teaspoons of sugar per standard-sized tin can! In addition to this, soft drinks contain citric and phosphoric acid, which eat away at your dental enamel. If you failed to see the connection between fizzy soft drinks and Houston dental implants before, that should make it crystal clear!

Recommendation: Diet soft drinks aren’t that much better either. Artificial sweeteners are also acidic. The best thing to do if you want to lower your risk of tooth decay and the need for Houston dental implants is to wean yourself off of these sugar and acid-rich thirst busters. Learn to love water. It’s much better for you!

Houston Dental Implants: Stay Tuned

To read about more habits that could, one day, see you requiring Houston dental implants, stay tuned for the third installment of this four-part article series.

Want to Avoid Tooth Loss and the Need for Houston Dental Implants? 19 Habits To Stop, PART 1

This four-part article series discusses 19 habits that, through various mechanisms (both short and long term) lead to the degradation of the health of your teeth, gums and jaw bone.

It can be said without hesitation that one of your greatest physical assets is your smile. And most of us are in some kind of agreement as to what makes a smile attractive:

• White, even teeth
• Pink gums
• Straight gum line
• A natural tooth crown-to-gum ratio,

And so on and so forth. What all of these factors have in common is that they all reflect a clean and healthy mouth. When asked what you think it takes to avoid tooth loss and the need for Houston dental implants, you wouldn’t be wrong to say regular and thorough brushing and flossing and appointments with the dentist every six months. But there is quite a bit more to maintaining a beautiful and healthy smile.

Every day, we indulge in habits that are wrecking our teeth, whether we are aware of it or not. Avoiding the need for Houston dental implants therefore requires that we wise up to these habits and start weaning ourselves off of them. In this four-part article series, we will do just that! Read on to find out about the top 19 habits that could see you requiring Houston dental implants.

Houston Dental Implants: Habit to Avoid # 1 ~ Chewing on Ice

Ice… it’s nice and cold, it doesn’t contain any sugar and it feels good to slurp on during a particularly hot day. Harmless, right? Did you forget what happened to the Titanic? Crunching, munching and chewing on ice are terrible for your teeth. Ice is incredibly hard and it can crack and chip the enamel of your teeth, leaving the more vulnerable dentin and pulp chamber exposed to bacteria. Damage your pearly whites with ice and you could end up requiring a root canal procedure to sterilize the insides of an infected tooth or, worse, Houston dental implants to replace the irreparably damaged tooth/teeth.

Recommendation: Realize that chewing ice is a bad habit that damages your teeth. Chew sugar-free gum instead.

Houston Dental Implants: Habit to Avoid # 2 ~ Tongue and Lip Piercings

Your tongue is an organ with Attention Deficit Disorder. It sits there in your mouth, bored for most of the day, except at meal times and when you engage with your friends for a bit of a chin-wag. Otherwise, it is constantly looking for things to do. Now you have a lip stud or a tongue piercing put in. And your tongue is like a kid set loose on a playground. Try to discipline your tongue not to play with your piercing and you will find it doing so of its own volition. So, where’s the harm in this? A part of your tongue’s playing with this new fun toy involves it knocking against your teeth and/or of you biting down on the metal stud. The flat metal disk can also rub away at the gums causing physical trauma to this soft tissue, which, in the long term can compromise the tooth, ending up with you requiring Houston dental implant.

Recommendation: If you really want a tongue or lip stud, talk to your dentist first and perhaps they can advise a location for the piercing that will minimize the long term damage to your teeth and gums. Tooth loss and the need for Houston dental implants is a hefty price to pay just to be trendy!

Houston Dental Implants: Habit to Avoid # 3 ~ Playing Sports Without a Mouth Guard

If you regularly play contact sports, such as hockey, basketball or football, either buy a self-fitting mouth guard from a sports store or have one custom-made by your dentist and wear it! This molded plastic will help to prevent your teeth and gums from sustaining any physical trauma in the event that you receive a ball, hand or foot to the face. You need only watch some international sporting events to appreciate how frequently athletes can and do require Houston dental implants!

Recommendation: If you want to avoid chipping teeth, torn up gums and even the need to replace missing teeth with Houston dental implants, wear a mouth guard each and every time!

Houston Dental Implants: Habit to Avoid # 4 ~ Baby Bedtime Bottles

Oral healthcare should begin as early as possible. And this means refraining from giving your tiny tot a bedtime bottle of formula, milk or juice to fall asleep with. Overnight, your baby’s emerging teeth will be bathed in sugars and this can lead to early decay.

Recommendation: Don’t get your baby used to falling asleep with a bottle. Feed them before you put them to bed in their cribs.

Houston Dental Implants: Stay Tuned

To read about more habits that could, one day, see you requiring Houston dental implants, stay tuned for the second installment of this four-part article series.