Every Dentist Needs Your Help Keeping Your Teeth Healthy

Stress and dental health have an indelible link. If you are stressed out, then you are likely to develop myriad problems. It is good to recognize what these issues are so that you can learn how to cope with them. Here are four examples of how stress can affect your oral health:

Teeth Grinding

You are likely to start grinding your teeth when you are stressed. This may happen not only during the day, but also while you are sleeping at night. Teeth grinding may seem like a simple affair, but it can:

• Destabilize your jaw joint and cause temporomandibular joint disorder
• Damage your teeth enamel and lead to teeth sensitivity
• Lead to sore jaw muscles
• Cause micro-fractures
• Cause damage to dental work

Apart from dealing with your stress, you also need to consult a dentist for your bruxism (teeth grinding). A common solution that your dentist may prescribe is to wear a mouth guard while sleeping.

Chewing on Objects

While some people grind their teeth (something that may be involuntary) when stressed out, others resort to the equally damaging habit of chewing hard objects. For example, you might find yourself chewing on pencils, eyeglasses, pens, bottle tops and such like things. Unfortunately, this can also cause cracks on your teeth or even damage your existing orthodontics.

Medication

If you are dealing with chronic stress, then it is possible that you will be given some medication for it. Unfortunately, some stress medicines have been known to cause dry mouths for their patients. The more drugs you are taking, the higher the chances that you will have a dry mouth and its associated symptoms such as:

• Cracked lips
• Mouth sores
• Swallowing or chewing difficulty
• Sticky feeling in the mouth

Having a dry mouth is bad because it denies you the saliva that usually washes away bacteria and food particles that contribute to teeth decay.

Change in Dental Hygiene Habits

If you are severally stressed, then it is possible that you will start neglecting body hygiene, which includes dental hygiene. For example, you may:

• Not brush your teeth as regularly as you usually do
• Brush or floss incorrectly or for shorter periods
• Change your eating habits to focus on sugary foods

All these are things that damage your dental health.

As you can see, you should pay attention to your dental health when you are coping with stress. Even if you haven't noticed a particular dental problem, you should consult a dentist (such as Montillo Dental Associates Braintree) who will guide you on the preventive measures to apply.