The health of our teeth is very important for our body. Much more than we think. That is why we must take into account that food we put in our mouth or that we bite, because many people have habits that are unhygienic, such as biting their nails, known as onychophagia .
Experts have always ensured that the foods and nutrients we take daily play a very important role in our oral hygiene.
The study ‘Oral Health and Food: Role of Nutrition in Oral Health’ collected several annotations on the health of our teeth. And is that good nutrition can allow you to have “healthy and strong teeth, resistant to attack by bacteria”; in addition to “having healthy gums and mouth, without ailments and in good working order.” being the first step of our digestion ». As the specialists assure, having good tooth health is essential for our body.
With all that has been said, we come to the conclusion that oral hygiene is very significant and many people don’t take it into account.
How does biting our nails affect our teeth?
One of the bad behaviors that many people with teeth have is to bite anything. Whether to open a bag of jelly beans, a packet of pipes or nail biting .
We are going to emphasize the latter, which is known as onychophagia. And it is that biting the nails can cause important disorders in our teeth, as warned by the General Council of Dentists.
The experts recommend going to the consultation at least twice a year in case of having this practice to carry out a review and avoid future pathologies.
This repetitive habit usually begins around 4-6 years of age. In fact, some studies estimate its prevalence at 30% of the minors who start it.
The influence of repeating the practice of biting nails affects the health of our teeth. In fact, it can produce abnormal dental movements and cause a malocclusion.
To this must be added, that at the earliest ages, milk teeth also suffer enamel abrasion, like permanent teeth.
Problems that may arise after biting your nails
Dentists say that the problems that affect the most frequent teeth due to nail biting:
- Wear and micro-fractures in the enamel teeth, especially upper incisors.
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) problems, such as pain and clicking , because this habit forces a forced advance of the jaw.
- Problems in the gums and canker sores of repetition due to bacteria and other microorganisms found under the nails.
In very extreme cases, they warn that if he Onychophagia is associated with other pathologies, such as bruxism, the survival of a tooth may be compromised.