When you achieve a beautiful smile from cosmetic dentistry in Spokane from Collins Dentistry & Aesthetics, you will love your results so much that you won’t want anything to ruin them. Fortunately, with the right care, you can maintain your gorgeous smile for years to come. To ensure you get the most mileage out of your cosmetic dentistry results, we recommend avoiding the different harmful habits that can ruin your results.
Smoking
Smoking is one of the most harmful habits for your oral health
and your overall health. It doesn’t matter what kind of cosmetic dentistry treatment you have, smoking will affect it in one way or another. When you inhale cigarettes, the chemicals affect the flow of your saliva and can cause dry mouth. A dry mouth means that your saliva isn’t regularly washing away plaque and bacteria from your teeth. Well, this plaque will build up on your teeth and along your gum line. If it’s not properly cleaned off every day, it can harden into tartar and cause cavities and gum disease. Gum disease can make porcelain veneers and dental implants fail and cause receding gums which can greatly impact the appearance of your smile.
Smoking cigarettes can also stain your teeth which can make any results from teeth whitening a complete waste. At the end of the day, smoking is one of the most harmful habits that can ruin your cosmetic dentistry results and your oral and overall health.
Clenching and Grinding
Another harmful habit that can affect your cosmetic dentistry results is clenching and grinding. Bruxism is usually a result of misaligned teeth or TMJ disorder. As you regularly clench and grind your teeth, you will wear down your teeth. This can cause receding gums and alter the size of your teeth. If you have porcelain veneers, dental crowns, or other restorations, it will also wear these down and cause you to need replacements much sooner.
Clenching and grinding can also cause teeth to become cracked. If this is a daily habit, we strongly encourage you to talk to our cosmetic dentists in Spokane about an oral splint or other treatment to prevent the habit from occurring.
Consuming Foods and Drinks That Stain
If you want to maintain the whitest smile possible, unless you have porcelain veneers or fake teeth, you will need to steer clear of foods and drinks that stain. Otherwise, your professional teeth whitening results will disappear before your eyes. As you drink coffee, tea, or Cola, or eat chocolate, your porous teeth will absorb their colors and cause yellowing and discoloration. You will need to continue to use teeth whitening treatments several times per year to maintain your results.
Not Wearing Your Appliances
Another harmful habit you likely haven’t even considered is not wearing your recommended appliances. If your dentist has instructed you to wear a nightguard to prevent clenching and grinding at night, you need to wear this or you will harm your teeth. You should also wear a retainer a few nights per week if you had an orthodontic treatment at some point in your life or your teeth will start to shift out of place.
We also recommend wearing a mouth guard if you play any contact sports to protect your teeth from damage or from getting knocked out. Lastly, if you have sleep apnea, you need to wear your oral appliance at night to prevent yourself from snoring, breathing through your mouth, or clenching and grinding.
Always listen to your dentist and wear your appliances as instructed or your smile’s appearance will pay the price.
Using Your Teeth As Tool
You should only use your teeth to eat and that’s it. They’re not nail clippers or scissors. They’re also not meant to chew on ice or hard candy. Only use your teeth for eating food otherwise you might damage them and their appearance.
Not Drinking Enough Water
Staying hydrated is essential for washing away bacteria and plaque from your teeth. When you don’t drink enough water, this will build up and result in stains, bad breath, cavities, or gum disease – all of which will affect your cosmetic dentistry results. Make sure to drink at least eight glasses of water per day to keep your mouth hydrated and teeth happy and healthy.
Not Brushing and Flossing
Brushing and flossing are the easiest habits you can do every day to prevent harm to your cosmetic dentistry results. Without a good oral hygiene routine, you can experience tooth decay and gum disease that can cause dental implants and porcelain veneers to fail. You can also experience staining, receding gums, and so much more.
Not Visiting the Dentist Regularly
The last harmful habit that will affect your cosmetic dentistry results is not visiting the dentist regularly. You should ideally visit our cosmetic dentists in Spokane every six months for a dental cleaning and checkup. During these appointments, we will not only improve your oral health by removing plaque and tartar from your teeth and below the gumline, but we will check your cosmetic dentistry results and look for other dental problems. With regular checkups, we can give you treatment for problems early and fix your cosmetic dentistry results when they require attention. With regular dental visits, you can look forward to a beautiful smile all year long!
Book an appointment at Collins Dentistry & Aesthetics to learn more about cosmetic dentistry in Spokane or to get your next dental cleaning. Please call (509) 532-1111 to get started.
