I was having my teeth cleaned the other day and my hygenist new I sewed a lot over the years, and she asked me if I held pins between my teeth much. I said yes I do a lot, knew it was a bad habit. Well she told me she could see the wear on one of my front teeth from it. I thought they were starting to just crack (with age LOL) and she said no, she has seen this happen to other clients. Also cutting thread with your teeth is a bad habit. Soooooo I am trying very hard to stick the pins in a cushion from now on. Thought I would pass this along. :-D

I would be afraid of swallowing the pin if I put it beween my teeth.

I put the pins on my shirt - instead of a pincushion -

Thanks for this. I had no idea that it could damage our teeth and I am guilty of doing this once in a while.

Thanks for this. I had no idea that it could damage our teeth and I am guilty of doing this once in a while.

My Home Ec teacher told us many years ago that if she caught us with a pin in our mouth she just may give us a whack on the back.. That has stuck with me all my life. I never do that. She said that if we have one in our mouth and got startled, we may swallow it. OUCH!!

I put my pins between my lips.

I hold them with my lips, not my teeth, and only when I'm putting pins in to something, so at most 5 at a time. Keeps me from stabbing myself when I reach blindly for my pin cushion.

But the thought of swallowing a pin?? OY!!!

i would have been afraid of getting stuck if i did this but good to know why i shouldn't do this. :-) :-)

Oh My!! If I tried this I would have a chest fulll of bandaids... LOL

I've always been afraid I would swallow the pin so never stick them in my mouth. I'm pretty good about putting them in the pincushion because I have to watch my cats and make sure they don't eat the pins!

Yes, it can cause damage. Years ago, I saw a story about a murder mystery on TV. They had trouble identifying the victim and finally tracked the name down by the small notch on one of her teeth from holding pins. She had been a seamstress.
I usually put them in my shirt but that habit has got to stop also. I forgot one and almost stuck myself in the eye when I pulled my T-shirt off over my head. WoW, who thought sewing was such a dangerous hobby.

Reminds me when 2 different dentists over the years asked me if I sewed. Asking why, they both (one 13 years after the other) said looks like I break off threads with my teeth instead of using a scissors. I have broken myself of that habit. I now have a scissor collection too big to mention. Could be because of the dental bills. :)

A pin cushion on my left wrist does the trick.. that way it's close to my other hand if I need a pin... also.. with my luck I would be the one to swallow the pins.. : (

I was reading a magazine article once about a woman who had had breast implants put in. To show how "flat" she had been before, she said she wore falsies and used them as a pincushion while sewing. Until one day the doorbell rang and she answered it to find a shocked door-to-door salesmen looking at her chest with all the pins stuck in it!!

Iknow what you mean about sticking yourself. I have done it twice in my tongue. You would think I would of learned my lesson the first time. LOLOLOL Loved the pins in the falsie and the salesman. What a hoot.

i have the same issue with my front teeth as i used to open my bobby pins with my teeth as a teenager :)

LOL

ditto :lol:

Ha, my teeth cost too much to ruin. Implants, veneers, and caps are not worth ruining to sew. Healthy pretty teeth are very important for smiling so please take care of them.

I do that a lot and more than once someone has asked me what the pins in my shirt meant. My friend, Karen, can look at me and ask what I am sewing on now. I started using a magnetic pin cup after I forgot to take the pins out of my T-shirt before pulling it off over my head. NOT NICE.

I use the freebie magnets that you can get every where. I cut them in half and put a part inside my shirt and the rest outside and it catches the pins. Works great.

My dentist demonstrated the groove in my tooth by running his instrument over it when I was 12 years old. he said it was caused from biting off the thread and warned me how it would be in another 40years...I haven't done it since...always have a cutter handy and right next to the many pin cushions.

You just made my day. LOL on this one. thanks

thanks for the info...Augusta is my former home :P

I do the same thing. This reminds me of a funny thing when I wanted to go fishing with my brothers, I had 9 of them. I was real good at cutting their fishing line with my teeth as they were really sharp. Strange, right! At least I goto fish.

I have cut thread with my sharp regular teeth all my life, and then got veneers and it is so hard to break the habit, but my veneers won't cut thread to save my life.

Oh gosh! I hold pins between my lips sometimes. Try to remember to wear the wrist pin cushion when I'm pinning. Actually getting spoiled to the glue baste pen...so not using regular pins as much. Its not as damaging when you put the glue pen in your mouth :wink:

I felt like you were talking to me. My dentist told me the same thing. I have to wear a night guard at night to keep me from clenching and grinding my teeth. Maybe, I need to wear it while sewing!

My home ec teacher always told us we'd fail the current project... OUCH!

i tend to hold them with my teeth too. i used to always bite the thread to cut it. my hygienist told me she could tell becuse the thread was making a groove in my front teeth. stopped doing that but sometimes i can't resist the feel of the pin between my teeth.

I used to do that most of the time, especially when I started sewing (clothing). But the first time I was sewing with my grandchildren, I stopped just before I stuck a pin in my mouth. Didn't want to teach them a bad and dangerous habit.

I do this all the time. Thanks for the warning.

I dont put pins in my mouth anymore as my front teeth are gone. I lost my bridge a few weeks ago (it didnt fit anyway) so I use the magnet pin cup.

BOY AM I GLAD I POSTED THIS. I KNOW I AM DEFINITLY NOT ALONE IN THIS BAD HABIT. I HOPE ALL THE HOME ECH TEACHERS OUT THERE READ THIS AND IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY TEACHING IT, DO. I TOOK HOME ECH MANY YEARS AGO BUT DON'T REMEMBER LEARNING ABOUT IT.

WOW! Never knew this. I hold pins in my mouth all the time as did my mother! It seems easier than pulling them from a cushion. Thanks for the info.

LOL...LOL...LOL

Yes!! I actually had one of my front lower teeth to chip off from the years of biting off my thread with my teeth!! I stopped doing that, too!! And, this was when I was in my late 30's!!

Ditto!! It costs less to quit putting pins in your mouth than to get a crown -- trust me!!

What?? NO! I don't know if I can break this habit! I always have a pin in my mouth... And I cut my thread with my teeth if I don't have a pair of scissors handy... hmmm, thanks for the alert!