Having ragged-looking teeth can make you feel self-conscious about your oral hygiene and health. If the edges of your teeth are ragged, you're certainly not the only one who's going through this kind of thing. But how did you get to this place? If you're not sure how this happened to your teeth, consider the following three reasons why your teeth look ragged.

Nail Biting

Nail biting, however infrequent, is one of the leading causes of ragged teeth. Nail-biting requires your upper and lower teeth to strike each other with extreme force to break through the nail. When this happens, they can make tiny little chips out of your teeth. You won't notice it at first; in fact, many people go for years before they realize that damage has already been done to their teeth. However, if you bite your nails, consider stopping. The damage may continue to get worse if you keep biting.

Teeth Grinding

Another potential cause of ragged teeth is teeth grinding. Unfortunately, teeth grinding can be difficult to put a stop to or recognize as a problem. This is because many people only grind their teeth during their sleep.

Of course, some people do grind their teeth during periods of high stress and anxiety while they're awake; when that happens, they can consciously make themselves stop. While someone's grinding their teeth while asleep, they're not so lucky.

Decay

Lastly, your ragged edges might be due to tooth decay, rather than the damage done from grinding or nail-biting. Cavities don't always drill holes straight into the side of a tooth. Sometimes tooth decay can be slower and more minor than that, simply wearing away at tooth enamel bit by bit. As the enamel is worn away, softer structures of the teeth are exposed. These are more vulnerable to damage, so it can result in some parts of the tooth being damaged while others are relatively unscathed. This is what gives teeth their irregular, ragged-looking edge.

If you know that your teeth have ragged edges, you should see a dentist right away. A dentist can handle all three of these problems by helping you to break the habit of nail-biting, creating a bite guard to prevent grinding damage, cleaning your teeth, and repairing damaged enamel so that the damage doesn't get worse. For more information about your options, make an appointment with dental clinics such as Carpenter Dental.