What are some common pitfalls when handling MySQL database connections in PHP scripts?

One common pitfall when handling MySQL database connections in PHP scripts is not properly closing the connection after it is no longer needed. This can lead to resource leaks and potentially slow down the performance of the application. To solve this issue, always remember to close the database connection using the `mysqli_close()` function when you are done with it.

// Establishing a MySQL database connection
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

$conn = mysqli_connect($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
    die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
}

// Perform database operations

// Close the database connection
mysqli_close($conn);