Your teeth withstand wear and tear on a regular basis as you chew and bite foods. Though durable, teeth are not completely indestructible. If exposed to high amounts of pressure, teeth can chip, crack, or fracture.
Certain foods could generate this harmful pressure, leaving you with a broken tooth. If you know which food items present this risk to your dental structure, you can better preserve your dental structure. Read on to find four foods that pose a risk of breaking one or more of your teeth.
4 Food Items That May Break a Tooth
Popcorn
Popcorn is a popular snack food enjoyed both out at a movie theater and from the comfort of home. Its light, fluffy texture can hide hard, unpopped kernels in your bowl though. And if you accidentally bite one of these kernels, you could break a tooth.
Not only can a cracked tooth disrupt the look of your smile, but it also creates a vulnerable spot in your tooth where bacteria can cause major damage. It can also deepen without urgent treatment from your dentist.
So do not hesitate to call your dentist for an emergency evaluation if you hurt your tooth. They can offer swift solutions to restore your smile before you sustain additional dental damage.
Bagels
Bagels can help you build a tasty sandwich that will suit any time of day. But bagels and other hard breads are also denser than many people realize. This means you have a higher risk of breaking a tooth when biting into a bagel than you might guess.
Pay attention to your bite when eating a bagel to avoid this dental injury. And contact your dentist for restorative treatment to amend a broken tooth if you do sustain dental damage.
Hard Candy
Hard candy is made from boiled sugar that molds and solidifies into a sweet treat. It is designed to be sucked in the mouth until it dissolves. But many people feel tempted to bite down on this candy before that point, which could seriously hurt your tooth.
If you cannot resist biting hard candy, you might want to steer clear of this treat. Your dentist can treat a cracked, chipped, or fractured tooth in many cases with a dental crown. But you should preserve your natural dental structure as much as you can.
This ceramic cap will cover the dental damage and protect the area from further harm. The crown can last for fifteen years or longer with proper care, which will include avoiding further injuries from hard-textured food items.
Corn on the Cob
A fun way to enjoy a popular starchy vegetable is corn on the cob. Though delicious as well as entertaining, corn on the cob involves grating the teeth against a hard cob, a task your teeth cannot always withstand.
When possible, you should try eating corn off of its cob to avoid a dental injury. Talk to your dentist to learn more ways to protect your dental structure and lower your chances of a dental emergency.