We all know nail biting is a bad habit that ruins the look of fingernails. However, what you might not know is that biting your nails actually causes damage too. If you’ve ever wondered, ‘What does nail biting do to your teeth?’, here we look at the effects nail biting has not only on your nails and fingers but on teeth and gums, with tips to help you kick the habit once and for all!
Why Do People Bite Their Nails?
In most cases, nail biting is done subconsciously and becomes an automatic response to certain situations. According to research, there are several reasons this happens, including:
- Issues with shyness and low self-esteem
- Triggers of a traumatic life event or going through a traumatic life event
- To alleviate boredom
- Copied behaviour between a child and adults
There are also psychological reasons people bite their nails, such as:
- Helping calm nerves when stressed or frustrated
- Controlling anxiety
- Attention seeking
- Self-injurious nail biting
- Controlling aggression
- A sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum
- A sign of various behavioral and emotional disorders
What Does Nail Biting Do To Your Teeth?
Nail biting and dental health don’t mix! Your teeth can stand up to a lot of wear and tear, but nailing biting acts like an accelerant of sorts, speeding up wear and tear and causing damage to your teeth, gums, and jaw.
Over time you can experience the following damage to teeth from biting nails:
- Developing bruxism: The act of nail-biting can lead to developing a chronic habit of teeth grinding known as bruxism. Bruxism causes excess wear of tooth enamel which increases the risk of tooth decay. When grinding is severe it can lead to serious tooth damage including chips and cracks. Other issues that result from bruxism are headaches and jaw soreness/TMJ.
- Chipping, cracking, and erosion: Nail biting causes friction between your nails and teeth that gradually wears away your enamel. However, the pressure of biting hard nails can also cause cracks and chips.
- Malocclusion: Malocclusion is an abnormal bite, meaning your upper and lower teeth don’t come together properly. This can lead to gaps between your teeth, loose teeth, tooth loss, enamel erosion, decay/cavities, and gum disease. A bad bite can also impact how you speak and even affect your ability to chew your food properly, which can lead to poor diet and health issues.
- Gum disease: When dirt and germs transfer to your teeth and tongue, you can develop gingivitis or gum disease which can lead to tooth decay, tooth loss, and infection if not treated.
And let’s not forget the ick factor of nail biting: germy fingers! Not only can you develop gum disease but also infections and illness depending on the type of germs transferred. Yuck! So, nail biting and teeth issues go beyond just your teeth, involving your gums, jaw, and overall health as well.
What Other Damage is Caused By Nail Biting?
If you suffer from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, are biting nails to self-harm, or simply can’t control your nail-biting, it can lead to the following issues with nails and fingers, including:
- Painful ingrown nails
- Nail discolouration
- Separation between your nails and the surrounding skin
- Skin or nail infections
- Swelling or bleeding around your nails
Some germs that might make you sick include foodborne illnesses such as E. coli and salmonella, as well as common colds, flu, COVID, etc. However, there is an endless list of pathogens that can cause serious illness and infection.
As you bite your nails, these pathogens are more likely to cause infections of the skin, nails and fingers that can spread, especially if you have existing wounds, hangnails, ingrown nails or separation between the nail and skin where germs can easily enter. When untreated, permanent nail damage can occur if paronychia develops. In rare cases, the infection can spread to the finger bone requiring surgical removal of the nail to prevent the infection from spreading further.
Nail Biting and Manicures
If you bite your nails and have manicures to help cover the damage, whether done professionally or at home, you can expose yourself to dangerous toxins. This is because nail polish and other manicure products contain harmful chemicals, including formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate. Frequent exposure to these chemicals is bad for your health. If you have a nail or skin infection, separation, or cuts, it’s best to avoid using manicure products.
How to Stop Biting Your Nails
Now that you know how risky damage to teeth from biting nails is, you might be ready to try to stop. Here are some tips to help you finally free yourself from your nailing-biting habit:
- Use an anti-nail-biting polish: You can find special nail polishes with a bitter taste that can help you keep your fingers out of your mouth. When you learn that biting nails is unpleasant, it can help train you to stop biting. This is particularly effective for children but be sure to use a child-safe product.
- Teach yourself proper nail hygiene: Sometimes we bite our nails as a “convenient” way to keep nails trim. However, it’s much better to teach yourself proper nail care. Trimming and filing your nails also keeps your nails at a shorter length, making them harder to bite. The shorter the nails the less you will be compelled to bite them.
- Be conscious of biting: Sometimes, your nail-biting habit is so ingrained you don’t realize you’re doing it. Being more mindful of what you’re doing allows you to recognize nail biting so you can take your fingers out of your mouth. You can also train yourself to do something else when the urge to bite your nails pops up. For example, you might keep a bottle of water with you so you can take a swig instead of biting your nails or pop a piece of sugar-free gum in your mouth.
- Find a hobby to alleviate boredom: If you tend to bite your nails when bored, having a hobby to keep your hands occupied can also help, such as drawing, knitting, or using an app on your phone.
- Know your triggers: It helps to know what triggers your nail biting. As mentioned, mindfulness can help you understand why you’re biting your nails whether it’s anxiety, stress, boredom, or something that might require treatment such as depression or obsessive disorders. If you know your triggers you can try to avoid them and also find more effective ways to cope.
In most cases, nail biting is not a cause for alarm. However, it’s a habit you should break to help protect your dental health, avoid infections, reduce jaw pain and headaches and have far more attractive hands!
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