Cough lollies
Believe it or not, a lot of people assume that cough drops are generally healthy simply because they are located in the pharmaceutical aisle…but this is unfortunately not the case.
Cough lollies (or cough drops) are packed with sugar – you know, to help the medicine go down. This sticky sweet suckable is designed to coat your throat, so your teeth are going to get an enamel-destroying coating too!.
You can still take these sugary little tablets when your throat hurts or your cough won’t subside, but just be sure to brush thoroughly once you’ve finished.
In fact…candy consumption in general
All sugary sweets are enemies of the teeth, so avoid if possible and brush immediately afterwards! Or, try ditching some of that sweet stuff for sugar-free alternatives.
Orange Juice
I’m sure you have been told to stay away from too much soda if you want to maintain a healthy mouth full of happy teeth. This is true, as most soft drinks packed with sugar and quite frankly terrible for your teeth. But did you know that orange juice is even worse? (gasp!)
Orange juice is not only packed with sugar but it also contains a bucket load of citric acid which can’t wait to compromise the integrity of your teeth.
So what can you do? Eat oranges and drink water (or milk) to keep those teeth happy and cavity free.
Thumb sucking, dummies and pacifiers
Prolonged thumb and pacifier sucking can push teeth out around the thumb or dummy, causing huge toothy gaps and/or toothy protrusions to span out – sometimes even beyond closed lips. Such damage can only be mended with long-term braces, so discourage the habit before teeth get pushed too far!
Smoking
If we put aside for one moment the fact that smoking is probably your mouth’s worst enemy – the leading cause multiple mouth cancers that affect your lips, tongue and gums – smoking is also known to deal significant damage to your teeth.
Smoking can also bring about a myriad of other problems such as wrinkly pursed lips and horrific amounts of gum disease (the leading cause of tooth loss in New Zealand…by the way).
If you value your mouth, and you’d like to keep all your teeth intact…don’t smoke.
Unsafe Sports
No mouthguard? No sports.
Don’t enter that ring, or walk onto that court or field without one. Trust your dentist when we tell you that the minor discomfort of a clunky mouthguard is nothing compared to the painful possibilities that come with sport injuries to the mouth (not to mention the repair work that will surely ensue).
However, it is also important to note that not all mouthguards were made equal. A dodgy mouthguard is nothing more than a lump of uncomfortable plastic in your mouth, and will do little to nothing in the way of protecting your pearly whites. Did you know that 75% of people buy their mouthguards over the counter? If you’d like to ensure your mouthguard is performing at maximum protective capacity, ask your dentist to book you in for a fitting so that we can construct a custom-fitted guard that suits your teeth perfectly.
At the end of the day, we understand that accidents happen, and we will always do our best to repair your pearly whites, even if a few went flying during your last rugby practice!