Why to Avoid Letting Your Children Use Their Teeth as Tools

Allowing your child to misuse his or her teeth may cause the teeth to become cracked or fractured. If your child is using his or her teeth for anything other than eating, they risk tooth damage, which could lead to dental disease, tooth loss, and costly dental repairs. You can help your child avoid these problems by teaching them not to use their teeth as tools.

Why Teeth Should Never be Used as Tools

Below are a few habits that can cause damage to your child’s teeth:

• Cutting Anything Other Than Food – It can be easy and tempting to use your teeth to open a bag, cut string, or tear tape. However, these substances can be damaging to your teeth, and the pressure needed to perform these tasks is often more intense than that needed to chew food. Because your kids follow your example, we recommend avoiding this habit for yourself as well as your children.
• Holding Items – Using your teeth as an extra set of hands to hold that last item can be tempting. However, using your teeth to hold items can be dangerous, especially if you trip or fall. This makes you vulnerable to sustaining serious facial and oral injuries, including the loss of teeth.
• Cracking Nuts – Nuts are healthy and delicious, but teeth are not meant to crack the shells they come in. Attempting to crack a nutshell can cause the teeth to become fractured or broken. Instead, if your child loves nuts, you can offer them nuts without shells or teach him or her how to use a nut-cracker.

Teeth are meant for chewing food, helping us to speak properly, and that’s it! Teeth are not indestructible, and allowing your child to use his or her teeth as tools will make them vulnerable to unnecessary dental damage, which can cause pain and the need for expensive procedures.

To make an appointment for your child to receive a regular dental cleaning and a checkup, please contact Severance Dental today!