You have may have heard from a doctor in the past that stress and anxiety can have a profound effect on your overall health. But that is also true for your oral health. In many ways, your mental health can greatly impact your physical health. In this article, we will discuss a few of the key factors stress plays on oral, as well as why it is important to be aware of these factors and decrease health risks overall. If you are in need of a dental appointment in the Lewiston Maine, area please give us a call for more information.
Anxiety & Gum Disease
One of the main ways anxiety impacts our body is the way it makes it more difficult to fight off infections and disease. This is often overlooked, but the mouth is often one of the main ways bacteria, viruses, and other contaminates enter our body. Gum disease is extremely important predicting other illnesses. As our gums start to get infected, that infection can spread to the lungs and the cardiovascular system. Stress and anxiety can wear down your immune system and your body’s ability to fight infection. This can lead to gum disease as well as other health-related issues.
Two ways to impact that this is to decrease stress but to also make sure you are taking active care of your gums. Gum disease can grow in severity and impact the rest of your health, so it is important to floss daily.
Anxiety & Bruxism (Tooth Grinding)
A common subconscious habit people have when they are angry or stressed is to clench their jaws and grind their teeth. You might even do it while you are asleep. Grinding your teeth can have a lot of negative impacts on your oral health. For example, added pressure to the teeth can lead to cracks and even breaks in a tooth. This might need to be solved with dental crowns or tooth replacement. Additionally, the pressure of your jaw clenching can lead to jaw pain and problems like TMJ.
Some solutions to this problem are to consider getting a grind guard if you wake up with headaches or jaw pain in the morning. Your dentist can help fit you for a custom guard that protects your teeth and makes it more difficult to grind your teeth.
Stress & Mouth Sores
As mentioned above, stress can lower your immune system. This can lead to mouth sores also known as ulcers. Sores like these are common among people who are dealing with high stress but also have many other causes as well including diet. Sores like these can make it harder to eat and drink but they often resolve themselves.
Schedule A Dental Cleaning in Maine
Going to the dentist is the best way to keep your gums and teeth healthy. For more information about dental services in Lewiston Maine, please contact our team.