Bad Habits That Affect Your Teeth

Teeth are not as stable as sometimes we might like to believe. In fact, although teeth are rooted in the jawbone, and are quite stationary, they can be moved. This is how orthodontics works at all; the braces exert pressure and gently move the teeth to a more desirable position. But not only braces can do this: pretty much any constant pressure will mould the teeth and shift them away from their position. This is almost always a problem, as they are moved randomly and start to overlap each other, causing health issues. Here are some of the most common habits that make the teeth wander.

 

Sucking the thumb, pacifiers

People who used pacifiers for a long time or who sucked on their thumb for a long time frequently experience problems later on. The bottom teeth won’t erupt all the way, they may be worn down, and the tongue won’t be able to get around as well either, and generally results in an open bite.

Smoking

Just as pacifiers can cause an open bite in children, so does smoking cause the same problem in adulthood, but with a little added bonus, as smoking is carcinogenic and also dries out the mucus membranes and the gums, causing gum recession and an oral environment in which the teeth and gums are more prone to problems as well.
Bruxism and tongue thrusts
Some involuntary motions, like grinding your teeth when under stress or in your sleep (commonly referred to as bruxism), and tongue thrusts can move your teeth about and change the way they align. These can cause shifts in their position and also in the way they are situated in the alveolus.

Myofascial trainers

Trainers are used to realign the musculature of the face, jaws and the mouth. Myofascial trainers will help with combating the bad habits that the body is used to. When a muscle is used, it becomes stronger, and thus the urge to do certain bad habits can be minimized by training the facial muscles and to make them stronger, thus retraining them to not do motions and repetitive actions that will cause problems for the development and normal alignment of teeth later on.