Bad Oral Habits

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- Greetings Healthy Steem! -

^{From Thumb 👍 to Truth: My own Honest Take on Oral Habits and How They Shape my Smile}

• So there are certain habits we form innocently during childhood, but they end up disturbing the natural alignment of either our teeth, a certaincondition known in the dental world as malocclusion. Now, let’s really talk more real.

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😁 Name me the most common bad habits we acquire as children?

From stuffs like thumb-sucking to tongue-thrusting, chewing of nails, sucking of lips to even using the feeding bottles for too long. All these little habits seem very much harmless but can have a big impact. I still remember how one of my cousins(Samuel ) used to suck his thumb religiously. Even at night, his fingers found their way into his mouth. Over time, his upper teeth began to jet out like a small roof.

Another very common one again is the chewing pencils, especially during the exam seasons. I personally found myself in these category chewing the end of my biro while reading under the dim yellow bulb back then or in exams hall trying to remember what to put down. I'll say it this way that it wasn’t stress eating — it was stress chewing! 🤣🤣

😁 Tell me if you have had any kind of bad oral habits and how you acquired them.

Yes, I did ouh. Mine was obviously biting/chewing my nails and pens. And the Funny thing? It all started in my Primary 1 when our teacher would ask difficult math questions. I would instead be biting my nails to calm my nerves. Over time, I saw it becoming a subconscious habit in me. I also had this season in my life where I chewed on ice blocks, obviously not out of thirst, but just for the “crunchy” satisfaction. Later, I then discovered this could weaken my enamel and can create micro-cracks in my teeth. I had to stop though with caution from my eldest.

😁 How can we eradicate that kind of bad habit?

Eradicating these habits can be tough somehow but first, It should starts with awareness, because optimistically you can't eventually fight what you don't recognize. According to my own experiences, I kept a mental note each time my finger moved toward my mouth. I also told a close friend and my relations about it and my Intentions to stop it, and they all helped call me out. Also, I try to replaced the bad habit with a better one, like chewing gum and clenching a stress ball when ever I'm anxious.

• For the children, the parents really needs to be involved. Replacing thumb-sucking with pacifiers and eventually weaning them off gently helps to solve the problem.

😁 How can we avoid falling into these bad habits?

Prevention, as this famous saying implies anytime, is better than cure or dental correction. The needs for Educating children early: perhaps through stories or some visual charts, can really help. A story shared with children can be funny and makes the kids laughed, but it stuck with them. Also, building a very healthy routines like proper brushing, the regular dental visits, and a very good stress management helps us to avoid bad habits born out of anxiety or of boredom.

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Conclusion

In all, our dear oral health is really not about flossing as I'll like to describe it, it’s more mandatory about understanding our actions. The smile we do show the world reflects the habits we obviously hide behind. I’ve learned that indeed every habit we break or build starts with a choice which is build inside and so today, I choose a better one.

I invite @emmalex25, @bossj23 and @afrinn.

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 -•- Thanks Y'all for Reading -•-

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Cc,
@helengutier2

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