3 Reasons Your Dental Health Needs You to Beat Stress

You may have heard that you could beat stress if you spend time on yoga or take up a hobby. But those things take time, and you may not feel that they're as urgent as the rest of the things on your to-do list. In fact, you may not realize just how critical relaxation and stress management are to your overall health. Your body and your mouth need you to beat stress in order to stay healthy. Here are three examples of how your stress levels can impact your oral health. 1. Stress Can Cause You to Clench and Grind Teeth Clenching your jaw can be a bad habit you pick up on stressful days, but grinding your teeth at night can be much worse. When you grind at night, you're asleep so you don't consciously control your jaw muscles. Your jaw could clench a lot harder at night than you realize. Grinding your teeth at night (called bruxism) doesn't just make your jaw muscles sore and give you a headache. It can also wear out your enamel, chip your teeth, break your fillings, and cause tooth sensitivity. Unfortunately, daytime stress can actually trigger bruxism. In addition to a night guard prescription, your dentist may recommend that you reduce your stress if you show signs of bruxism. 2. Stress Could Increase Diabetes Risk Stress levels can affect so many things in your body; you may not be surprised to hear that blood sugar stability can be another victim. In fact, research indicates that too much stress could actually increase the potential for type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a serious health condition, and it can even affect your dental health in a couple of different ways. For example, diabetes makes you more likely to develop gum disease, also known as periodontal disease. This is especially alarming when you realize that Americans already have a 47.2% chance of gum disease by their thirties. In addition, since it can induce dry mouth, diabetes could actually increase the number of cavities that you develop. Saliva plays a role in protecting your tooth enamel, so when you don't have enough saliva, your enamel is at risk. 3. Stress Can Trigger Acid Reflux Acid reflux causes stomach acids to flow back up to your mouth. This can be just as messy and painful as it sounds, but it can also harm your overall health and your dental health. Although stress isn't necessarily the cause of the condition, it can often be a trigger for acid reflux episodes. Acid reflux is a symptom of GERD, but it can also occur occasionally if you don't have GERD. However, the more often you have acid reflux, the more damage the acid can do in your mouth. Your doctor can diagnose whether or not you have GERD and prescribe the appropriate medications. But he or she may also advise you to avoid triggers, which could include stress. Whether this means a lower workload at work, more sleep, or even taking up yoga or another hobby, be sure to follow your doctor's advice. GERD can lead to serious complications both for your digestive health and for your teeth if not treated sufficiently. As you can see from these three examples, the effort required to reduce stress levels could be very worthwhile based solely on the effects on your dental health. Talk to your doctor or your dentist about what stress-busting methods could be right for you. And if you suspect you suffer from anxiety or depression as well as stress, discuss that with your doctor right away.
Don't forget to keep up with your regularly scheduled dental health while you seek to remove stress from your life. Contact the office of Jeffrey L. Erwin DDS today for more information about our services.