How stress can affect your oral health, and how to reduce those symptoms.

Stress can have all kinds of negative effects on your body. From headaches to stomachaches to anxiety, stress can cause numerous health problems. Some symptoms of stress can lead to worse oral health. An upset stomach might result in someone eating less healthfully and thus put their teeth at risk. Muscle tension can often result in tooth clenching or grinding, which erodes enamel. However, stress can also be the cause of various oral health problems in and of itself.

Tooth grinding

Grinding of the teeth, also called Bruxism, can result in damaged or even lost teeth. People under heavy amounts of stress will often grind their teeth as they sleep. This is the more common version of this problem. When the tooth grinding becomes severe enough, it can cause broken or even lost teeth. This symptom can also result in headaches and jaw pain.

Ways to alleviate Bruxism include wearing a mouth guard at night, counseling, and meditation. If this is a severe problem for you, do not hesitate to see your dentist.

Gum disease

Periodontitis is an infection of the gums. Stress makes it much harder for your body to fight off infections. Thus, a person under stress is much more susceptible to infections, and the gums are no exception. Gum disease can be exacerbated by other stress-related symptoms. Tooth grinding, jaw-clenching, and smoking will only worsen periodontitis. Risks from gum disease include tooth loss, bleeding/inflamed and sensitive gums, bad breath, and even heart disease.

Gum disease can be treated by proper dental care, including regular brushing and flossing. Of course, reducing stress will improve your immune system as a whole. Visit a doctor if you start to experience heavy gum bleeding or visible and painful infection in your gums.

TMJ disorder

TMJ stands for the temporomandibular joints, which move your lower jaw. They connect your jaw to your skull at your lower ear. Stress is a huge reason for TMJ disorders, as well as swelling and/or stiffness. Symptoms include pain, popping, and clicking of the jaw.

Treatments include meditation, medicine, and a diet of soft foods.

Burning mouth syndrome

This unusual symptoms has many causes, among them stress. As you might imagine, this syndrome is characterized by a dry and hot feeling in the mouth. Stress, anxiety, and depression can all be causes of this, as well as other stress-related activities, like tooth grinding and smoking, and drinking. Treatment can involve medication and stress counseling.

Canker Sores

AKA apthous stomatitis or apthous ulcers, canker sores are small lesions that appear on the soft tissues of your mouth and gums. These small sores can make eating, chewing, and swallowing painful. These can be triggered by vitamin B deficiency as well as mouth injury/irritation. It’s not fully-known what causes them, but some studies point to stress.

Biting the cheek, dietary and hormonal changes, and fatigue can all lead to canker sores. Each of the aforementioned causes can be symptoms of stress. Avoid spicy and acidic foods and try to keep a balanced diet to avoid canker sores. And of course, try to lower your stress levels.

Major canker sores are characterized by large size and depth, extreme pain, and they may take up to 6 weeks to heal. If you are experiencing major canker sores, talk to your oral hygienist or doctor immediately. Also see a doctor if your sores are persistent, extremely painful, have frequent outbreaks, fever with canker sores, or difficulty eating or drinking.

Lichen Planus

This is characterized by lacey patches of white on the mouth, lips, and/or tongue. It’s triggered when the body’s immune system is lower than usual, which is a major danger of stress. It can appear on any part of your body, and in extreme cases can be deadly. Untreated, lichen planus can lead to oral cancer. See a doctor if you are experiencing a rash-like symptom on the skin or white patches in the mouth for no apparent reason. Keeping your stress levels low and your immune system levels high is the best way to prevent it from happening.

Nail biting

Nail biting is a classic stress response. The habit can be harmful to your oral and over all health for a few reasons. One is that you are at higher risk of various infections and even parasites when you put your unwashed hands in your mouth. Another is damage to the teeth from biting on nails. Viruses, warts, and other infections can spread from the hand to the mouth and the rest of the body.

Try to handle stress via meditation, yoga, and other, less harmful ways to overcome nail biting.

Dealing with stress

You may have noticed that some advice here included the vague: “reduce stress levels.” Here are a few methods for getting stress under control and for maintaining oral health.

• Meditation
• Yoga
• Counseling
• Taking a break from work.
• Taking a walk.
• Balanced diet.
• Regular exercise.
• Regular tooth brushing and flossing.
• Avoiding alcohol and tobacco
• Stress medication.

Stressed people often drink and smoke to cope. It’s also hard to maintain regular habits like exercise and hygiene while under extreme stress.

If stress has got you down, and you are seriously worried about your oral health, Josey Lane can help. We are a family dentistry office with over 17 years of experience in Carrollton Texas. Deal with your stress and find a reason to smile, then come to us to make your smile as bright as it can be. Send us a message to see everything we can do for you.