4 Bad Dental Habits That Worsen In Summer

It’s time for long, hot days, and tropical vacations; summer is finally here! Be sure to make the most of the season, but be careful not to sacrifice your health and hygiene for summer fun. It can be very easy to let your guard down during the summer months, and let bad habits get the best of you. These 4 habits adversely affect your teeth, and are exacerbated during the summer. Recognize them and the ways to prevent them, and avoid spending too much time

Frequent Snacking

From day trips to week long vacations, and cross country road trips, summer days and nights are full of opportunities to snack.  Occasional snacking does help to keep your energy levels stable, but frequent snacking hurts your enamel, and makes it much more susceptible to tooth decay. It takes approximately 30 minutes for saliva to neutralize the pH levels in the mouth every time someone eats. During that timeframe, your tooth enamel is weak and more prone to an attack. Try to limit the amount of snacking time, snack with healthier foods, and always drink water after you’ve had a snack.

Chewing Ice

Summer and ice go hand in hand. There is no summer scenario that isn’t better with a nice cold drink. So it’s not surprising that the number of incidents that result from chewing on ice  increase during the warmer months. Chewing ice can chip or crack a tooth and it can also irritate the soft tissues in your mouth. If chewing is a habit you’re unable to break, why not try chewing on carrot sticks or a piece of sugarfree gum.

Thirst Quenching Sugary Drinks

All of that playing during summer days will leave you very thirsty. A cold soda, or “healthy” sports drink will be tempting to grab when you’re all done. The issue is that these drinks are actually full of sugar, so each time you have one, your mouth gets put into overdrive to try and fight tooth decay. Worse than reaching for a cold one, is casually sipping on one throughout the afternoon. If you find yourself with a sugary drink, try to have some water afterward to rinse away any sugary residue.

Inconsistent Routines

Summer fun usually results from a change in routine, or abandoning one all together, in order to go outside and play or hit the road traveling. After a long day of playing in the sun, it can be very tempting to call it a night without going through your normal, healthy, evening routine of brushing teeth and flossing. Sticking to your morning and evening brushing routines in the midst of the summer chaos will help ensure you don’t end up having fun all summer only to find out you will be spending your fall in the office of your Orlando Dentist repairing all that summer damage.