often discuss the best way to keep your mouth healthy and strong. Today we will put a twist on this information and present the best ways to lose most of, if not all of your teeth. While losing teeth is certainly not a good dental health goal, knowing what causes tooth loss can be just as beneficial as understanding preventive dentistry.

Don’t Brush Your Teeth

“Brush only the teeth you want to keep” is a favorite quote among dentists by an anonymous wise person. is the number one cause of missing permanent teeth. Poor oral hygiene can contribute to gingivitis as well as tooth decay that attacks the tooth’s connection to the jawbone, called abscess. This painful dental condition is often untreatable with restorative dentistry measures. Instead, some abscessed teeth must be extracted.

Play Hockey without a Mouthguard

This is one of the best ways to incur a dental injury, and possibly concussion. Some sports studies have shown that proper sports mouthguards soften the blow to the head, reducing the risk of deadly concussions. Hockey is notorious for the gapped-tooth grin due to . For avulsed teeth, or knocked out teeth, one of your best bets is a hockey stick, hockey puck, or fist to the mouth. Without mouth protection, all of these projectiles will certainly cause dental injury. In fact, last season, one NHL player lost seven teeth in one game. Tooth chipping is also not uncommon for hockey players.

Riverside Dentists

If keeping your teeth sounds like a better option than not brushing or playing hockey without mouth protection, contact our . For more information about the services we offer, or to reserve an appointment at Dental Associates of Riverside, call (951) 369-1001.