You can be harming your teeth without even knowing that you are doing anything wrong. You can make it to all your dental exams, take proper care of your teeth with a good regimen every day and make a conscious effort to eat good foods and protect them. Then, you can accidentally make mistakes that end up causing problems that you would have never expected. Here are some surprising ways you can be hurting your teeth:

1: Chewing on things when you are stressed – When some people are stressed they will reach for something to put in their mouth to chew on. If you are someone who dies this then there is a good chance you don't even know you are doing it. Some common things people will chew on when they are stressed include:

• Pen caps
• The metal end of a pencil
• A straw
• Paper
• Plastic pieces
• Gum (Which is bad if it has sugar)

The reason you don't want to do this is that you will more than likely be putting a lot of pressure on those things due to being stressed out. Also, gum can be bad if it contains sugar because it can lead to cavities. Putting too much stress on teeth can fracture them, chip them, break them or even lead to them becoming loose.

2:  Grinding your teeth while you are asleep – You may suffer from a dental condition that is known as bruxism. If you have a partner, then there is a good chance you will find out about this early on because they will tell you they hear you grinding your teeth together at night. If you are single, this can go on for a while. Therefore, you need to watch for symptoms on your own and these include:

• Jaw pains
• Morning time headaches
• Tooth sensitivity

Letting bruxism go on for a while can cause dental damage that shows up in a variety of ways, including your teeth losing their sharp points, fractures, chips, and breaks.

3: Eating hard candies – Eating hard candies can become a habit that helps you with things like quitting smoking, sticking to a diet, keeping your dry mouth moist and more. However, eating hard candy regularly can cause these issues:

• Cavities
• Staining
• Chipping

Conclusion: All of the above things can cause damage to your teeth that need treatment. Veneers can be good for many different dental problems, ranging from repairing chipped, fractured or broken teeth to giving you back white teeth if yours are beyond what can be helped with whitening treatments.

Contact a dental office like Leo Uicker DDS for more information and assistance.