Does Biting Nails Damage Teeth?

While biting nails seem a fun activity to some people, it is a very bad habit to others. The fact is that biting nails may only be accepted as a luxury and fun activity when such an individual is idle.

While others may see biting nails as a normal thing to do, others, on the other hand, are left at the crossroad with an answer to the “does biting nails damage teeth“.

Yes, biting nails can damage teeth.

Also, it is pertinent for you to understand that your nails disclose a lot about your health. So, whatever care you give to your nail affects your entire health. Also, biting nails does not only cause teeth damage but also increases exposure to infections. Yes, it is as serious as that!

Negative Effects of Biting your Nails

Biting off your nails tends to have some potential risks. Aside from the fact that there is a very high tendency for your nails to break, there are also some detrimental effects that need to be considered.

1. Increased danger of infection

As you know, the hand is a very important part of the body that is mostly used in our day-to-day lives. Virtually everything you do requires that you make use of your hand.

Now, imagine the amount of dirt and germs that would have stayed on your finger and hand from touching several things.

The biting of such nails supports the spread of germs and dirt from the finger to the mouth. This, in turn, can lead to the attack of the body’s immune system, causing sicknesses such as typhoid or bacterial infections.

2. Tooth Damage risk

Apart from the fact that it is a bad habit to bite your nails with your teeth, it could also lead to high possibilities of tooth damage.

The main essentiality of the teeth is to chew food. Hence, making use of the tooth for biting your nails could cause breakage of the tooth. Also, it may lead to damage to the enamel and gum.

Besides, there is an increased rate of infection, too, as there may be deposition of nail germs on the mouth and tooth lining as well as the possibility of bad breath.

3. Painful Hangnails and infections

Constantly biting your nails increases the possibility of you biting off more than anticipated. You could mistakenly tear the pieces of skin at the base of your nails which may lead to the possibility of a painful hangnail.

There could also be ingrown nails being formed, which could result in severe pain and serious infections.

How to Stop Biting your Nails

Once there is a re-occurrence in the biting of your nails, and it begins to run into days and months or even years, it becomes a habit. It is not new that lots of individuals have been fighting to overcome the habit as they cannot do it without biting their nails.

Well, the good news is that you can overcome the habit with persistence and consistency. Of course, you know that controlling a habit is not an easy bone to break. Hence, the need to follow certain principles and guidelines becomes pertinent.

Below are some guidelines that need to be put into consideration:

1. Ensure to keep neat and well-trimmed nails

Fascination allows an individual to try out or check out something. Certainly, long untrimmed nails accommodate germs. Once your fingernails are neat and well-trimmed with a nail cutter, the probability of biting your nails will be greatly reduced.

2. Do Away with Idleness

Research has shown that part of the causes of nail biting is idleness. This means that you have nothing to do at this point, and one of the possibilities of this period is biting your nails.

Once you begin to stay idle or inactive, a series of thoughts and bad habits begin to come into play. Hence the need to always keep yourself active all the time. If you don’t have anything to do, you could decide to carry a novel and read or even watch a movie.

3. Apply a Bitter-tasting Lacquer to Nails to Discourage Biting

If you are someone who has mastered the habit of nail-biting, do not fear. For a start, you could just make use of a varnish that tastes bitter and apply it to your nails. This helps to control the biting of your nails, because, of course, the human tongue is not favorable to bitter things.

4. See a Medical Personnel for counsel and advice

In some situations, visiting medical personnel, that is, a behavior therapist is the best recommendation.

A behavior therapist is a responsible person who has been well trained to study what caused a habit, when it started, its effect after starting, the dangers in it, and many more. They then use these points to resolve their patients.

How You Can Prevent Nail Breakage

While biting nails are seen as the surest route to the breakage of nails, nails can also get broken, especially when your lifestyle isn’t a healthy one.  Below are some healthy ways to prevent your nails from breaking unnecessarily or frequently.

1. Eat a balanced diet

Taking a well-balanced diet helps to strengthen the nails, thus, preventing the breaking of nails. Also, eating a meal rich in protein-containing keratin helps to grow strong nails with protection from any form of damage.

2. Properly moisturize your nails

A properly moisturized nail is flexible and tends to bend rather than break. Regular application of moisturizing lotion can help with that.

3. Keep your nails well-trimmed

A well-cut nail has a very low tendency to break. Keeping Long nails informs attraction to biting of nails resulting in nail breakage.

When your nails are well-trimmed, there is a reduced tendency for the spread of germs from your hands to your mouth.

How to Treat your Broken Nails

A nail is said to be broken when some part of it has been distorted possibly by the effect of an external condition. It could also be a result of something trapped between your toes or a finger injury.

Critical cracks can also cause damage to the nail bed which is the origination of the growth of nails.

Below are some of the things you can do to reduce the pain of breaking your nails and how you can prevent its re-occurrence.

1. Proper cleaning of the breakage area

Once your nail breaks, there is a need to ensure the cleanliness of that area even if there is no blood sign. You should ensure that you immediately clean the area with alcohol, antiseptic, or even hydrogen peroxide. This helps to prevent infections in or around the breakage area.

2. Application of nail glue

Even though there are certain facts as regards the use of nail glues for reviving nails, the use of nail glues remains one of the best and fastest means of repairing or fixing a broken nail.

3. Try out the teabag method

Using the teabag method is quite a fast remedy to revive your broken nails. Below are the procedures needed to be followed.

  • Make use of alcohol to clean your nail plate, so that the tea bag can easily get attached to the surface.
  • Apply a minute quantity of the cut tea bag on the cleaned surface and next, apply a tiny nail glue amount.
  • Ensure that the nail is dried properly, then you can trim off any excess tea bag which may remain. You could then decide to polish your nail with adequate nail polish.

In case you need some verified and certified products to help you keep nail breakage at its barest minimum, below are some of such products;

Recommended Products to Treat Nail Breakage

1. Karlash Nail Repair Kit for Broken Cracked Split Nails

Karlash Nail Repair Kit for Broken Cracked Split Nails. Emergency Easy Quick Fix (Crystal Clear)

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The Karlash nail repair kit is a special kit with the unique feature of being non-toxic and free from any form of odor. Of course, its durability compared to acrylic cannot be measured. It is far more durable.

The unique benefit of this kit is its resistance to nail cracks and prevention of nail breakage. It also has nail glue that helps to repair any form of damage that may have occurred to the nail.

2. Kerasal Multi-Purpose Nail Repair

Kerasal Multi-Purpose Nail Repair, Nail Solution for Discolored and Damaged Nails, 0.43 fl oz

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Are you looking out for improvement in the appearance of your finger and toenails? Then the kerasal multipurpose nail repair is your best bet.

This treatment kit ensures the reduction of discoloration. That is the yellowing of the nails.

The unique benefit of the kerasal multipurpose nail repair is its ability to combat issues relating to nail aging, nail fungus, psoriasis (a non-contagious disease characterized by silvery or gray patches which turn red when scratched)

3. Super Nail Bandage Instant Nail Repair

super nail Nail Bandage Instant Nail Repair

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The design of the Supernail Nail Bandage is in such a way that it instantly repairs any form of broken nails or cracks.

So, do you need an instant repair for your damaged nails? This product is the best for you.

It has the unique beneficial feature of having a self-adhesive back which ensures fast application and repair for both artificial and natural nails.

Does Biting Nails Cause Crooked Teeth?

Yes, it does. When you bite your nails, they are frequently pushed into your gums, and sometimes even underneath them. As you continue to bite your nails, the pressure on the tooth causes the enamel to wear away and permanently move the tooth out of place. The same thing can happen if you bite your cuticles or chew on pens, pencils or your fingernails.

Conclusion

It is indeed a bad habit to bite your nails. However, the habit can be controlled and the damage to your teeth can be prevented. You only need to control yourself from nail-biting and prevent conditions that trigger nail-biting, such as idleness and loneliness.

Also, visiting appropriate medical personnel and using effective products are also very important.

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