STIM Oral Care | 12 Jul, 2022
Why is nail biting a dangerous habit for your teeth?
Do you have a nail biting habit, then you should know we call novels belonging to the thriller and suspense genres ‘nail-biters. Yes, the habit of nail biting on the whole is a less exciting connotation.
The very common problem with nail biting is having torn, uneven nails, sometimes even nails that are majorly shortened and deformed over time. Isn’t it scary? But what’s worse is biting nail can have drastic effects on teeth and your oral health.
What happens when you bite nails?
Your teeth should never be used as tools to open alcohol bottles or to clip nails. Over a period of time, nail biting, otherwise called onychophagia, can lead to a variety of health complications.
- Malocclusion and gaps can be formed due to biting nails
The process of grinding your front teeth together to bite through the nails can gradually cause them to shift, creating a bad bite or worse, a malocclusion (misalignment or incorrect relation between the teeth of the two dental arches).
- Wearing, chipping, and cracking
Your teeth also might be getting chipped or cracked due to the rigorous shifting of teeth position while biting your nails, eventually, they wear out.
- Chances of Gingivitis
Fingernails usually house a lot of dirt and dangerous microorganisms under them; imagine chewing on one of them, it will simply introduce all of those bacteria to your mouth leading to gum diseases.
Breaking the Habit
- Make sure your nails are well trimmed and short so that there isn’t much to chew on.
- Get manicures done at regular intervals so that you’re more motivated to keep well-maintained nails.
- You can try replacing this nail biting habit with a stress ball.
- Stress and anxiety cause this habit, try to avoid stressful circumstances, or be prepared to deal with them.
For more fun, informative, and factual information on dental health, check out www.drdentaids.com
