Food is not just eating energy, it is an experience. Good food is a treat for all of the senses but it is the mouth that allows us to best experience it.  So isn’t it annoying that when you are treating yourself with your favorite food, something goes wrong inside your mouth? Here are few common problems that you could face while chewing your food.

Chipped/broken tooth while chewing 

Did you bite too hard or was your food hard to bite? The consequence is always the same – a broken tooth. Accidentally biting hard can cause your teeth to break. If you have a broken tooth please visit the dentist as soon as you can to get it fixed. Broken teeth will attract more bacteria and deteriorate quickly if left untreated. To avoid this watch what you are eating. Don’t sit in front of the TV or your phone and mindlessly gulp your food down.

Fractured your tooth

Did you try to open a bottle cap with your mouth or bite that really hard ladoo and fracture your tooth? If your tooth is fractured you’ll find a piece of the tooth in your mouth along with blood. Visit your dentist immediately to get it fixed. If the bleeding is severe you may need a root canal treatment or even an extraction.

Teeth are actually supposed to be stronger than bones, but careless eating habits end up damaging them. Avoid opening bottles or tearing open wrapper etc. with your teeth. Your teeth are meant for chewing, not acting as scissors.

Dislodged cap

If too much pressure is put on your cap/crown or if you eat something very sticky the cap might get pulled off. This not only damages your cap but might also damage your tooth.  Save the dislodged cap and take it to your dentist as soon as you can. Delay will cause the dimensions of your tooth to change and then the cap will not fit properly.

If you swallow or lose the cap then a new one will have to be made. So avoid biting hard things like til gul ladoo or sticky things like éclairs or even chewing gum with your capped teeth.

Does your food get stuck between your teeth or gums?

Is food getting lodged in certain places every time you eat? This mean that you likely have a cavity or bone loss in that region. Once you have a cavity it will not go away with brushing and bone loss also cannot be corrected on its own. Both need to be treated by your dentist. Visit your dentist regularly to get a scaling done to avoid these problems.

Bleeding gums

Do your gums bleed every time you eat? This means you have something called as gingivitis. It is a disease of the gums characterized by red, swollen, bleeding gum which are tender to touch. Bad breath might also be present. Flossing regularly to avoid gingivitis (gum infection).

Accidental tongue or cheek bite while chewing 

Biting your tongue or cheek while chewing can be very painful and depending on how hard you bite, it can even draw blood. Use emollients like ghee and honey to coat the region and help with the healing or simply apply anesthetic intra oral gel prescribed by your dentist. Avoid spicy food for a few days and visit your dentist if the wound doesn’t heal on its own in a few days.

Chewing only on one side

Do you chew from one side and ignore the other? This can lead to a lot of problems of not just teeth but also weakening of the muscle and bone of the jaw. If you have pain while eating from both the sides visit your dentist to get the problem fixed.

Sensitivity to cold food

Sometimes you may experience sudden sensitivity in one of your teeth or may be all of them. You may have to visit you dentist to get rid of it at once as sensitivity may occur due to various reasons. The main reason being wearing-off of the harder enamel layer and exposing the inner sensitive dentin layer of your tooth or teeth.

Clicking sounds come from your jaw

The temporomandibular joint is the foci of all your muscle, ligaments and tendons of mastication. Any damage to this joint causes pain and difficulty in not just chewing but even talking. Ignoring this problem might lead to permanent damage to the joint and disturb the harmony of your facial muscles. So if you feel pain or hear clicking sounds from your jaw while chewing make sure to visit your dentist.

Chewing problems with braces

If you are undergoing orthodontic treatment and have braces then you are more prone to having problems while chewing. Food lodgement between the braces, snapping of wires or elastics or even breaking of the brackets are a very common problems.

Be careful while eating and avoid things like pizza, burgers or even fruits like apples, mangoes etc. which can dislodged your brackets or get entangled in them. Use special interdental brushes to keep your braces, teeth and gums health.

So brush and floss your teeth regularly to continue enjoying your food. And visit your dentist regularly to keep your dentition in good condition. 

Take care of your teeth and they will take care of you.

 Highlights

• Dental problems while chewing food can be accidental or long standing.
• Accidentally biting hard can cause your tooth to fracture or get chipped. Chipping off the tooth can be fixed by your dentist with a simple filling. Fractures of the tooth may require filling or root canal treatment depending on the case.
• Falling off the cap or loose cap while chewing food can be fixed if you reach out to a dentist within 24 hours. If the cap breaks or fractures you will have to get a new one.
• Use a flosspick instead of a toothpick to remove the food particles stuck between your teeth.
• Chewing on one side can be bad for your jaw joint and also clicking sounds while opening and closing your jaw.
• Chewing with braces can be troublesome but make sure you follow all the instructions given by the dentist. Breaking of the braces need to be fixed by the dentist at the earliest. Keep the broken bracket with you so that your dentist can fix it back.
• Keep a piece of wax with you, if you feel pricky while using or chewing with your braces.