7 daily oral health sins

Wake up, brush your teeth, shower, breakfast, rush to work, eat lunch at your desk, meetings, leave work, dinner, squeeze in a gym session and finally bed! Repeat until the weekend. Sound familiar? If not, perhaps switch the gym session for a TV show binge!

We all run on autopilot from time to time and once we get into the rut of our daily routine it can be hard to break habits. This could mean you’re overlooking or unaware of habits that could be bad for your oral health…

1. Brushing after breakfast

Many people are in the habit of brushing after breakfast, thinking it’s best to remove all the bits of avocado-on-toast stuck in teeth before heading out of the door. However, brushing straight after eating can be harmful, as the acids and sugars in your food can change the pH level in your mouth, which weakens the tooth enamel. By brushing, you’re pushing the acid deeper into the teeth, which can result in acid erosion.

Make sure to brush your teeth before breakfast or if you’re still not convinced, wait around 40 minutes after eating breakfast to brush your teeth.

2. Brushing in the shower

Time is precious in the morning and brushing your teeth in the shower is a genius kill-two-birds-with-one-stone idea, right? Wrong. Multi-tasking like this can lead to you missing cleaning parts of your teeth, but you’re less likely to get sloppy if you brush over the sink. It’s easy to forget to brush at a 45-degree angle, for the full two minutes and to floss while singing along to your favourite playlist in the shower.

3. Juice for breakfast

Juicing is everywhere. Seems like a great idea – healthy, delicious and you can have it on the go. However, when fruit is broken down and blitzed, the natural sugars are released. A single glass of apple juice can have about 7 teaspoons of sugar in it! The sugar and acidic nature of fruit juices mean that a fruit juice diet can mean bad news for your oral health. Drink juice in moderation, with a glass of water afterwards.

4. Not drinking enough water

Drinking lots of water throughout the day is not only good for your general health, it also washes away the sugars and acids contained in your food. Keep a bottle of water by your desk to encourage you to drink more.

5. Brushing too hard

The harder you scrub, the cleaner the thing is, might be the case when you’re talking about the kitchen worktops, but not when it comes to your teeth. Brushing too hard can cause gum irritation and enamel erosion. Brush with a gentle, circular motion instead and if you’re using an electric toothbrush, let the brush do majority of the work for you.

6. Rinsing after brushing

Fight the urge to rinse after brushing your teeth, as doing so washes away the protective fluoride contained in your toothpaste.

7. Grinding at night

Many people who clench their jaw or grind their teeth aren’t aware they’re doing it and the cause isn’t always clear. It could be brought on by anxiety, stress or sleep problems and can lead to jaw pain and worn-down teeth. Book an appointment with us for advice and a possible mouthguard to help protect your teeth.