How Stress May Affect Your Smile
The Effects of Stress on Your Smile: Know How Anxiety Impacts Your Oral Health
When your life starts moving at a hectic pace, it’s easy for stress and anxiety to feel almost normal. Unfortunately, the effects of stress extend beyond just taxing your mind and body. Too much stress can also contribute to oral health problems before you realize they’re happening.
Our goal at Long Island Dental Specialty is to help everyone achieve better whole-body wellness. We encourage you to take a closer look at the ways increased stress could be quietly harming your beautiful smile.
Grinding Your Teeth at Night or Clenching Your Jaw
Stress contributes to tension in your jaw, which your body might try to alleviate through tooth grinding. Bruxism and jaw clenching can lead to these issues over time:
- TMJ disorders and jaw discomfort
- Soreness in your cheeks and jaw
- Cracked or fractured teeth
Feeling like your jaw had a workout when you wake up is a sign that you could be grinding your teeth and might benefit from a mouth guard.
Developing Inflammation or Gum Disease
Chronic stress can lead to illness in many parts of your body, and your gums are no exception. If your stress leads to a weakened immune system, then you can start to enter the first stages of gum disease. If you already have periodontitis or gingivitis, then your symptoms can worsen.
Watching out for these symptoms lets you know when to call our office for a gum disease exam:
- Teeth feeling loose
- Receding gum tissue
- Swelling and bleeding in the gums
Feeling the Effects of Dry Mouth
Dry mouth might be one of the side effects you experience if you take depression and anxiety medications. Stress might also cause you to breathe through your mouth and dry it out. If you have dry mouth, then it could create the perfect environment for oral health problems to develop, including the following:
- Bacteria overgrowth
- More cavities
- Bad breath
You need saliva to help neutralize acids and wash food particles away. Finding ways to stimulate saliva helps you lower your risk of tooth decay.
Skimping On Oral Hygiene
We encourage honesty when people are sitting in our dental chairs, and it’s okay to let us know if stress makes it hard to maintain your oral hygiene. We hear this so often that we want to share some tips for keeping your teeth and gums healthy when you’re under a lot of stress.
- Get assessed for teeth grinding
- Focus on hydration for improving dry mouth
- Try to limit sweets and eat a healthy diet
- Set a reminder alarm for toothbrushing and flossing
- Schedule prompt dental exams and cleanings
Noticing sensitivity in your teeth or bleeding gums is stressful. Reach out to Long Island Dental Specialty, and we’ll set you up with a treatment plan that addresses stress and improves your oral health challenges.
