Your teeth routinely endure wear and tear as you chew your food. Typically, your teeth can perform this task without issue, but abnormal pressures could cause teeth to chip, crack, or fracture. Biting into hard or dense food items could generate this pressure and break the tough outer shell of the tooth called enamel.
If you know which foods could cause this type of damage to your teeth, you can prepare to avoid this dental harm when it comes to your diet. Read on to learn about four foods that could pose a danger to the structure of your smile.
Popcorn
A bowl of popcorn makes for a delicious salty snack. But the appealing fluffy texture of this food hides hard unpopped kernels that could lurk in your bowl. Biting down on one of these kernels risks breakages in your teeth.
Though you might not feel pain from a crack in your tooth, it presents a vulnerable area in your smile. Plaque and bacteria could infiltrate this area and lead to decay or an infection of the pulp.
You might need root canal therapy or other intensive dental work if this occurs. So you should treat tooth breakage quickly with restorative dental treatment.
Bagels
You might not consider bagels to be hard-textured food. But this type of bread has a dense build-up that poses a greater danger to your smile than you might imagine.
Sandwiches made with bagels might be tasty. But biting into bagels and other hard bread may cause an injury to your tooth. You might feel tempted to wait to address this kind of dental problem until your next scheduled routine dentist appointment, especially if you do not feel pain.
However, cracks can deepen and worsen if you do not seek prompt treatment for the issue. Do not hesitate to call your dentist if you suffer tooth breakage.
Hard Candy
Many people enjoy sweet hard candies. Melted sugary syrups can solidify into lollipops or poppable confectionaries. They are designed to be sucked on for a long period, but it can be tempting to bite down on these hard-textured sweets.
This could majorly hurt your teeth. Not only can exposing your teeth to this type of pressure hurt your dental structure, but it may also hurt prior dental work. You can risk breaking a dental filling or crown if you bite this type of food item. If you find yourself unable to resist biting these candies, perhaps avoid them to protect your smile.
Corn on the Cob
Corn on the cob not only tastes great, but this food is also fun to eat. Though it may be exciting to hold each end of the ear of corn and bite directly into it, your teeth are not designed to withstand this kind of action.
Grating your teeth against the cob of corn can cause teeth to break. You can enjoy corn in other forms that do not pose this severe risk of injury to your smile. Ask your dentist for more advice to prevent this dental emergency.