If you follow the general tenets of good oral hygiene, such as brushing, flossing, and obtaining regular dental exams, you may not realize that you can still have bad habits that harm your tooth enamel. 

Read to learn about three bad habits that can surprisingly wreak havoc on your tooth enamel. 

1. Drinking Too Many Acidic Beverages 

You likely know that you should avoid sipping on sugar-filled beverages to prevent tooth decay. However, you may not realize that many sugar-free sodas and other beverages contain acids that, if frequently sipped on, can lead to another problem with your teeth called acid erosion. 

Phosphoric acid is frequently found in diet colas, and many other sugar-free beverages contain citric acid. In addition, coffee contains several natural acids and tea contains tannic acid. When you sip on these beverages, you bathe your teeth in these acids, contributing to acid erosion. To avoid acid erosion of your teeth, check the labels of sugar-free beverages before drinking them to ensure they do not contain these teeth-harming acids. 

However, if you enjoy drinking acidic beverages too much to cut them out of your diet completely, limit your consumption to meal times only to avoid bathing your teeth in acid all day long. In addition, the saliva produced by your mouth naturally when you chew can help cleanse these acids off your tooth enamel before they begin to damage it. 

2. Brushing Your Teeth at the Wrong Times 

While brushing your teeth two to three times each day is beneficial to your oral health, brushing at the wrong times can lead to tooth enamel erosion. 

First, be sure to wait at least 30 minutes after eating or drinking anything acidic to brush your teeth. After consuming acid-filled foods or beverages, your tooth enamel is softer than usual for about 30 minutes. Brushing your teeth when your tooth enamel is in this soft, weakened state can cause excessive wear-and-tear on your tooth enamel. 

If you consume acidic beverages or foods with breakfast and do not have time to wait 30 minutes before brushing, then brushing before breakfast does have many surprising benefits. 

Your mouth is filled with cavity-causing bacteria when you wake up in the morning. By brushing these bacteria away before you eat breakfast, you keep them from combining with sugars in the breakfast foods you eat and forming cavity-causing acids. In addition, the fluoride that remains on your teeth after brushing with a fluoride-filled toothpaste can further protect your teeth from the acids and sugars in your breakfast. 

3. Biting Your Nails 

If you bite your nails, then you may not realize that this bad habit can wreak havoc on your smile. 

First, chronic nail biting, also called onychophagia, can cause a problem with your teeth called malocclusion. Malocclusion is an improper alignment of teeth when your jaw is closed, such as an overbite or underbite, that can only be corrected with orthodontic appliances. In addition, nail biting can cause your incisors, which are your front teeth, to shift out of proper position due to the frequent force placed on them when biting your nails. 

Finally, biting your nails can damage on your tooth enamel over time. Even though nails may not seem very hard, the pressure placed on your tooth enamel when you bite them can cause your tooth enamel to wear away over time. Some people who bite their nails even crack or chip their tooth enamel while engaging in this bad habit. 

While nail biting can be a difficult habit to break, quitting your nail biting habit can help prevent the need for braces and prevent tooth enamel damage. 

Remember that good at-home care of your teeth does not only include brushing and flossing your teeth on a regular basis. You should also avoid any bad habits that can wreak havoc on your tooth enamel. Contact the staff at University Dental P.A. to schedule a dental exam today. Your dentist will prepare a treatment plan to help restore the health and appearance of your teeth.