How Your Oral Health is Impacted by Stress?

In the contemporary dynamic world, we are almost always running against time in order to survive in the ongoing rat race. One of the most common by-products of this hectic lifestyle is stress. It has become a huge problem that has turned out to be the major cause of concern for most people.

This goes without saying that life can bring about many situations and moments that are capable of leading to stress for us. In the course of time our ability to cope with the stress can diminish and this, in turn, may start to impact our health adversely.

Short bursts of stress can be tolerated by our body that help us to get through the situation. But over a long period of time if there is continued elevated stress then it can have detrimental effects on our body.

So here are some ways in which stress affects our oral health. Just read on.

• Grinding or Clenching of the Teeth – Worrying and grinding of the teeth can occur during sleep because of stress and repetitive thoughts. If you find that you are waking up with a headache or are stressed at bedtime then chances are that you are grinding your teeth at night without you knowing anything about it. Stress can also lead you to unknowingly clench your teeth during an action or thought. Both of these conditions can put a lot of stress on the surrounding support structures as well as the teeth that can deteriorate the oral health.

• Mouth Sores – Emotional stress can often lead to cold sores or canker sores. As healing takes place these can cause discomfort and pain for about 12-14 days. You should speak to your dentist as he or she can provide rinses and medication to diminish the level of discomfort and also help with the healing. Not only that, your dentist can also suggest you with the dietary precautions that will expedite the prevention and the healing.

• Poor Oral Hygiene – The busy and stressful times in our lives can affect our schedule in a way that does not give us any time to floss or brush regularly. This actually leads to the enhanced risk of developing tooth decay and gum disease.

• Dry Mouth – Stress contributes to dry mouth. The saliva is something that washes away the food particles, keeps the mouth balanced, your breath fresh and also plays a vital role in digestion. Dry mouth can be caused by medication that are prescribed for treating depression and other stress related symptoms.

• Gum Disease – Stress can affect the immunity, diminish its ability to contest the harmful bacteria that harms your gums and can lead to the formation of gum disease.

• Poor Habits – During the stressful times your smoking can increase as coping mechanism that can also enhance the risk of tooth decay and gum disease and can negatively impact the immunity.

The above effects of stress on oral health are reported by the proficient and experienced dentist in Greenpoint. Now that you know the adverse effects you should try to keep yourself calm by following relaxation techniques, getting plenty of rest and not missing even a single dental appointment.

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Created on Dec 21st 2017 03:19. Viewed 861 times.

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