Bad Habits Your Orthodontist Wants You To Break

Here at Omaha Office our orthodontist and our entire team are proud of the life-changing treatments we provide to achieve healthy, beautiful, long-lasting smiles. Of course, we need our patients to be active partners in reaching these goals. And while most patients do an admirable job in that regard, there are some bad habits that stubbornly persist that many of you may not even realize can negatively affect our treatments.

So we’ll take a moment today to offer this gentle reminder of some of the roadblocks along the road to success.

A few thoughts to chew on:

Unpopped popcorn kernels can crack a tooth, so be extra-careful when grabbing a handful at the bottom of the bag — especially when you’re watching a movie in the dark at home or in the theater.

Ice cubes are among the most notorious tooth-breakers. They cause small chips in the tooth’s protective outer enamel that can easily grow into larger cracks that will eventually need to be repaired by placing a crown or having a root canal procedure. 

Be mindful about chewing on anything that’s not nutritious, such as pencils, the caps that go on pens and markers, even your fingernails!

Brushing up on fluoride:

There’s been discussion in the news and on social media lately rejecting the use of fluoride. We’d like to point out that fluoride has been found to be measurably successful in reducing tooth decay, and its use in public drinking supplies and toothpaste continues to be recommended by the American Association of Orthodontists and American Dental Association.

Drinking problems:

As the popularity of energy drinks continues to grow, so do our warnings about the damage these beverages inflict on your teeth due to their high concentrations of sugar and acids. Water is always the best choice.

At Omaha Office we hope you’ll take a moment to digest these nuggets! Please contact us if you have questions or to schedule an appointment.