Effects of Stress to Oral Health
People are aware of the physical and emotional symptoms related to stress such as headaches, stomachaches, and anxiety.
However, it is possible that people may not know that stress can affect your oral, or mouth, health.
For this reason, it is important to know the source of stress and take steps to reduce such stress.
Stress is something that can affect your oral health in a number of ways.
Stress may lead to jaw issues or disorders of the jaw joint or chewing muscles. Stress can cause pain around the ear or face as a result.
Stress may also cause bruxism or teeth grinding, which may happen during the day when people feel a lot of stress.
Stress may also lead people to forget things and could lead to poor hygiene habits like brushing the teeth or flossing. Poor dental hygiene may lead to tooth decay and gum problems.
There are times that stress may become worse and lead to cold sores that are caused by herpes simplex virus HSV-1.
Often some oral infections may appear as ulcers, white lines, or white or red spots.
Stress may also lead to decreased immune response, which may end up causing gum problems or disease.
For this reason, it is important to know what causes the stress in order to treat dental problems.
Once you’ve pinpointed the causes, look for ways how to lower your stress levels.
Meantime, talk to your dentist about treatment options.
Teeth grinding may be treated with a night guard to prevent tooth damage caused from grinding and clenching. The night guard also may help remove stress on your aching muscles and joint tissues.
As you look to lower your stress, make it a point to avoid hard of crunchy foods.
Avoid smoking and alcohol as a coping with mechanism for stress.
It is possible the dentist may prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs that can help inflammation of the jaw joint. Antiviral drugs may help prevent cold sores.
The dentist is the best healthcare professional that can help with the situation.