Using the term “bad” to describe a particular hobby people love seems judgemental, but for these three, we can objectively say that they’re bad for your health. With years of research and the examples we see on a daily basis, it’s clear that some habits will keep us from living up to our full potential and are likely to take years off our lives. Explore three of these habits and how they take a toll on your smile.
Indulgence Vs Overindulgence
Although 86.4 percent of American adults have had a drink, only a small fraction of them become addicted. This shows that there’s a clear difference between enjoying a drink or a cigar on rare occasion and doing it every day to the point where it affects your health. It may seem like a thin line, but those who master the difference between indulgence and overindulgence will be able to have fun at parties without allowing their health or smile to suffer.
How Do These Three Bad Habits Affect Your Smile?
If a fit person has a lazy afternoon or a normally healthy eater indulges in sugary foods, minimal damage will be done. It’s only when these actions become habits that true damage can occur. Discover these three common bad habits and how they’ll affect your oral health.
1. Smoking Cigarettes
Due to bans in the public places of most cities and aggressive marketing about the damage tobacco causes, there are far fewer people who still smoke cigarettes than there were a decade ago. Nevertheless, at least 14% of the population still chooses to smoke, and as such, over 16 million people currently live with a tobacco-related disease.
Smoking and the Damage it Causes to Your Smile
There’s no doubt that smoking tobacco products is arguably the worst thing you can do for your oral health. From diminished taste and stained teeth to increased chances of gum disease and oral cancer, smoking cigarettes is a sure-fire way to jeopardize your oral health in a short time.
What’s the Worst That Can Happen if You Smoke?
Aside from the massive amount of other health problems you can get by smoking, oral cancer is the worst one that’s related to your oral health, and it can kill you. Although dentists like Dr. Darlene Hart provide an oral cancer screening with every exam, your chances of catching the disease skyrocket if you’re a smoker. According to cancer.org, at least 10,000 people die from oral cancer each year.
2. Abusing Alcohol
It’s common for adults to enjoy alcohol in private and at social gatherings, but a certain percentage of people become addicted. While it’s not only fine but recommended to drink beverages like wine in moderation, abusing it essentially poisons your body, leading to a host of devastating health problems.
The effects of alcohol abuse aren’t limited to your kidney, liver, and mouth– they also have a negative impact on your career, relationships, and other parts of your life.
How Does Alcohol Damage Your Smile?
- Increases chances of oral cancer
- Causes inflammation, boosting chances of gum disease
- Stains the teeth
- Alcoholic beverages contain acid which erodes the enamel
What’s the Worst That Can Happen From Abusing Alcohol?
While alcohol abuse can ruin your oral health in many ways, one of the most common is gum disease. Although highly treatable in its earliest stages, gum disease can eventually cause permanent tissue damage and even tooth loss.
The irony is that people who avoided treatment because of the cost may have no choice but to get expensive surgeries if they neglect their oral health. If you suspect you may have gum disease, then seeking treatment from a dentist who provides periodontal services like Dr. Mustafa Yazar is paramount.
3. Eating a Reckless Diet
While a poor diet may not seem as severe as other habits on this list, it’s an extremely common problem among Americans and it definitely makes an impact on how healthy we are. Recent statistics show that almost two-thirds of American men and 60% of women are obese. In addition to causing major problems for your heart and other organs, a reckless diet will quickly ruin your oral health.
How Can a Reckless Diet Ruin Your Oral Health?
Along with acids found in energy drinks and soda, sugar is the other major component that causes tooth decay and leads to cavities and gum disease. What a lot of people don’t understand is that almost all forms of bread turn to sugar as they’re chewed up and this sugar sticks to your teeth, leading to plaque, cavities, and gum disease.
A diet high in sugar will constantly saturate your teeth in the very substances that can destroy them. Even with impeccable oral hygiene, avoiding tooth decay and dental problems becomes an uphill battle. Ultimately, choosing to eat all of the high sugar foods you want will result in a life full of frequent dental problems, not to mention clogged arteries and obesity.
An Unexpected Dental Threat – Sleep Apnea
If you live a life of eating whatever you want with no concern for health and nutrition, there’s a less expected threat that awaits you. Over 70% of the people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea are obese, and sleep apnea makes it all the more difficult to get your life back on track. If you suspect that your snoring might be a sign of a greater problem, it’s vital to take a sleep test from a specialist like Dr. Chiarina Iregui in Gig Harbor, WA.
Manage Your Habits for a Healthy Smile
Everyone enjoys being free to make their own decisions, but with that freedom comes the need to not let our darkest tendencies get the best of us. If we like to have a drink now and then or even a Cuban cigar with friends on vacation, the effects on our health will be minimal. It’s when these activities become habits that we jeopardize our health, smiles, and the very freedom that we covet so much.