{"id":572,"date":"2026-02-06T05:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T05:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/?p=572"},"modified":"2026-02-17T05:25:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T05:25:06","slug":"four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/","title":{"rendered":"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Woman<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Are you scared of chipping a tooth? You may want to keep your smile in the best shape possible, but one way you can do this is by taking steps to protect it. There are certain habits you might have that may increase your risk of damage. To avoid a trip to your emergency dentist<\/a>, here are four items that you should never put in your mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Ice Cubes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you tend to chew on ice after you finish a drink, it’s important that you try your best to stop. Doing so can cause long-term damage as it causes small cracks throughout your enamel. Over time, this can turn into a problem that can lead to a fractured tooth. The same goes for a restoration you have, like a crown or filling! A great way to stop is by ordering light ice or letting it melt in your mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fingernails<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A nervous habit many people have is to chew on their fingernails. While you can trim them with your teeth, the keratin they\u2019re made from is still especially tough. They put your smile under pressure, causing it to wear down faster or lead to sensitivity. This one might be harder to break if you’re anxious, so consider having a fidget toy handy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottle Caps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You might use your grin to open a bottle, whether it’s metal or plastic. Both can spell trouble and lead to a chip if you aren’t careful. Not only that, but when you bite down on them, you may also strain your jaw. The muscles in your face may hurt more, or you can develop jaw problems as well. Simply take an extra minute to find the right tool for the job or ask for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pen Caps and Pencils<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you hold a pen or pencil and start thinking, the utensil may find its way into your mouth. However, like the points above, they are tough on your teeth. The more you gnaw at them, the more you wear down your teeth and risk developing damage. If you need something else to chew on, then use sugar-free gum as a safer alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, it\u2019s important you do your best to protect your smile from any harm. That may be breaking a few habits, but doing so can help you keep it in great shape for the long run. That way, you can avoid any urgent trips to your dentist!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. April Korte<\/a> earned her dental degree from Midwestern University. She has over 450 hours of continuing education, which she uses to give the Chaska community the high-quality care they deserve. Dr. Korte is here for your dental emergencies, working to get you in the same day to get the relief you need. If you want to make sure you protect your teeth from damage, schedule an appointment<\/a> or call her office at (952) 448-2868.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you scared of chipping a tooth? You may want to keep your smile in the best shape possible, but one way you can do this is by taking steps to protect it. There are certain habits you might have that may increase your risk of damage. To avoid a trip to your emergency dentist, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSave Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth - Chaska Dentist Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you want to protect your smile from damage, then it\u2019s important you break these four habits to prevent a dental emergency.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth - Chaska Dentist Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you want to protect your smile from damage, then it\u2019s important you break these four habits to prevent a dental emergency.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Chaska Dentist Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-06T05:23:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-17T05:25:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"534\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"chaskadentistteam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"chaskadentistteam\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"chaskadentistteam\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/acaa50320e87644fd2ac8983dc26bfb7\"},\"headline\":\"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-06T05:23:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-17T05:25:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":498,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766-300x200.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/\",\"name\":\"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth - Chaska Dentist Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766-300x200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-06T05:23:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-17T05:25:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/acaa50320e87644fd2ac8983dc26bfb7\"},\"description\":\"If you want to protect your smile from damage, then it\u2019s important you break these four habits to prevent a dental emergency.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":534,\"caption\":\"Woman smiling and holding two thumbs up\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/06\\\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Chaska Dentist Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/acaa50320e87644fd2ac8983dc26bfb7\",\"name\":\"chaskadentistteam\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e808c27ad6c4a3beffc97bddd64b743535b4ec870be45b8a8adfdb0428989219?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e808c27ad6c4a3beffc97bddd64b743535b4ec870be45b8a8adfdb0428989219?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e808c27ad6c4a3beffc97bddd64b743535b4ec870be45b8a8adfdb0428989219?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"chaskadentistteam\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chaskadentist.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/chaskadentistteam\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth - Chaska Dentist Blog","description":"If you want to protect your smile from damage, then it\u2019s important you break these four habits to prevent a dental emergency.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth - Chaska Dentist Blog","og_description":"If you want to protect your smile from damage, then it\u2019s important you break these four habits to prevent a dental emergency.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/","og_site_name":"Chaska Dentist Blog","article_published_time":"2026-02-06T05:23:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-17T05:25:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":534,"url":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"chaskadentistteam","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"chaskadentistteam","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/"},"author":{"name":"chaskadentistteam","@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/acaa50320e87644fd2ac8983dc26bfb7"},"headline":"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth","datePublished":"2026-02-06T05:23:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-17T05:25:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/"},"wordCount":498,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766-300x200.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/","url":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/","name":"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth - Chaska Dentist Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-06T05:23:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-17T05:25:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/acaa50320e87644fd2ac8983dc26bfb7"},"description":"If you want to protect your smile from damage, then it\u2019s important you break these four habits to prevent a dental emergency.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_286103895__1767994534_88766.jpg","width":800,"height":534,"caption":"Woman smiling and holding two thumbs up"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/06\/four-things-to-keep-out-of-your-mouth\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Save Your Smile: 4 Things to Keep Out of Your Mouth"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/","name":"Chaska Dentist Blog","description":"","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/acaa50320e87644fd2ac8983dc26bfb7","name":"chaskadentistteam","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e808c27ad6c4a3beffc97bddd64b743535b4ec870be45b8a8adfdb0428989219?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e808c27ad6c4a3beffc97bddd64b743535b4ec870be45b8a8adfdb0428989219?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e808c27ad6c4a3beffc97bddd64b743535b4ec870be45b8a8adfdb0428989219?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"chaskadentistteam"},"url":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/author\/chaskadentistteam\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":574,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572\/revisions\/574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaskadentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}