You can take comfort in the fact that you brush your teeth twice a day, right? Well, maybe not. It turns out that many of us commit tooth-brushing blunders that can compromise the quality of our chompers.

The most egregious mistake? "Brushing too hard in a back-and-forth horizontal motion," says Lituchy. "People think that if they're using hard bristles, they'll wipe away more plaque, but you can actually brush away your enamel and wear down the area where the gums meet the tooth structure, causing gum recession." So not a pretty look.

For those who scrub with gusto, that's hard news to swallow. In addition to easing up on the elbow grease, Lituchy suggests switching to a soft bristle brush. And instead of a using a harsh, side-to-side motion, he recommends brushing at a 45-degree angle away from the gum tissue, positioning the bristles under the gums and brushing bristles toward the biting surface of the tooth.

You're a popular gal, so you often find yourself socializing over a glass of wine or coffee. And while your catch-up sessions are a boost to your confidence, they're a bane to your teeth, which can pick up gnarly surface stains from all those richly colored drinks. "Wine is a very heavy stainer of tooth structure," says Lituchy. "If you're going out to dinner and having wine and maybe an espresso afterward, it's not a bad idea to put a coating of Vaseline on your teeth." Vaseline, according to Lituchy, will create a protective barrier, allowing you to drink to your heart's desire. So, go ahead, keep filling up your social calendar -- and your glass.

Bad news for those of us who feel smug about taking the time to floss every single day: We might be destroying our gums in the process. If you snap or pop the string in between your teeth, you're liable to damage the "triangle of gum" that comes to a point in between teeth, explains Lituchy. And once our gums begin to recede, they expose the oh-so-sensitive root of the tooth.

Instead, gently ease dental floss between teeth and make sure you curve the floss around the tooth in a C-shaped arc. And don't let the thought of possibly harming your gums deter you from flossing, either. You'll cause way more damage to your gums letting the bacteria that lives between teeth and under gums thrive unchecked.

Ever wake up with headaches or a pain in front of your ear? That could be a sign that you're a tooth grinder or clencher. Waking up with your teeth in a clenched position is another telltale sign.

"The muscles that we chew with connect with muscles that go to the temple or forehead, which is why sometimes grinders wake up with headaches," says Lituchy. Likewise, too much pressure from constant grinding can strain face muscles, especially those by the temporomandibular joint, which is located in front of the ear.

All that gnashing of the teeth while you slumber can lead to significant enamel erosion, but getting a mouth guard from a dentist can protect pearly whites from your nocturnal activities. That way, you can leave the grinding to, ahem, other bedroom activities.

Prepare to do a spit-take with your mouthwash. Most of us think of mouth rinse as a potent germ-killer, but some variations can actually create bacteria-friendly environments.

"If you happen to use an alcohol-based mouth rinse, the alcohol in it can dry out the mouth -- and bacteria thrive in dry environments," says Lituchy. (It's the reason morning breath is a thing; our salivary production slows down at night, which contributes to dry mouth and the multiplication of bacteria.)

Still, Lituchy always recommends using an anti-bacterial rinse and says alcohol-based ones are some of the most effective. To counter the drying effects, he advises rinsing with water immediately after. (If you've ever chugged a bottle of water after a night of cocktail-drinking, then this hydrating solution should make total sense to you.)

And in case you're wondering, yes, alcoholic drinks have the same drying effect as mouthwash but that doesn't mean you have to put your wine glass down just yet. Lituchy says you can counteract the dryness by swishing water around your mouth. (Likewise, if you're swigging sugar-heavy energy drinks following a workout -- when your mouth is dry from panting -- make sure to follow up by rinsing with water.) And even with wine's drying nature and high acidity, Lituchy says the health benefits of drinking it are more well documented than its adverse effect on teeth.