How does stress affect dental health?

The current hectic lifestyle all over seems to increase more stress on the individuals. The desire to achieve more goals with few resources and lesser duration has increased stress-level more. Most of the people are now experiencing stress at home and work as well. The obvious side-effects of stress are blood pressure fluctuation, pain, illness, etc. However, the stress also has an adverse effect on dental health too.

Hardly anybody might have thought about the bad effects of stress on dental health. However, it is true as studies have found that stress causes damage to oral health. The problem of dental health is very troublesome as it causes more pain, difficulty in eating, and many more problems. Taking less stress can be very helpful to minimize the bad effects on dental health and the overall health of the individual.

Effects of stress on dental health:

1. Teeth grinding

Teeth grinding is commonly observed during sleeping where the upper jaw teeth and lower jaw teeth rub each other faster. It is mainly due to misalignment of the teeth or improper jaw. Hard teeth grinding may have severe effects too like headaches, neck pain, wearing of the tooth, and broken teeth.

2. TMJD development

Grinding of teeth and teeth clenching may lead to problems like Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJD). Here, one may have undergone serious dental treatment or might have to wear a mouth guard.

3. High chances of gum disease

Stress lowers the immune system that further lowers the ability of the body to fight the bacteria development. This will eventually lead to problems like Gingivitis, Periodontitis, or any other gum disease problem.

4. Chances of mouth ulcers

The ulcers can occur due to any of the reasons. However, stress is one of the important reasons for ulcers. The ulcers lead to bacterial development which adversely affects dental health.

5. Neglecting oral hygiene

Stress may not bring enthusiasm to follow good oral hygiene habits. So, neglecting oral hygiene will invite problems like tooth decay, gum disease, and many more.

Here are some of the solutions that you can follow to relieve your stress:

1. Deep breathe

Deep breathing is one of the primary ways through which you can lower the stress. There are two methods to do it. First, do the breathing through the nose with the slower motion of inhaling and exhaling. Second, inhaling breathes through the nose and exhaling breathes through the mouth in slow motion. These two simple processes can help you tremendously in reducing stress.

2. Go for a short vacation

Going for even a short vacation can relieve you from the daily hectic life. It will help you to reduce the stress level to a lot extent.

3. Relax

Relaxing at least once a week can relieve the stress to an extent. Also, there are methods through which you can do the relaxation of the muscles which can minimize the stress.

4. Smile

It is found that smiling releases the endorphins in the body that lowers the stress level. It also forces the facial muscles to get relaxed along with it to bring more happiness to the person.

You can always visit an expert to get the solution for the stress problem. However, just knowing the few above facts can also help.