Tupelo, MS - Dr. Richard Caron "Your Dental Health" Big Bites

Do you ever feel that you are biting off more than you can chew? Well according to a new study by the Academy of General Dentistry- you just might be! During a busy day, we often rush through lunch and hurried eating can lead to taking bigger bites. But those big bites may be affecting your oral health more than you think. Taking bites that are too big to chew is detrimental to your jaw and teeth. Dentists have been seeing a rise in temporomandibular joint disorder or TMD. TMD limits how wide you can open your mouth, and larger bites of food can irritate symptoms of TMD. Avoid chewing ice, popcorn kernels, and opening nuts with your teeth. All these foods could lead to chipping or breaking of natural teeth . If you need to open your mouth more than what feels comfortable to take a bite, then you should be cutting the item into smaller portions that are easy to chew.