How Stress Affects Your Dental Hygiene

It’s no news that the world is moving at a quick pace, and keeping up with it is proving to be more stressful than a thrilling chase. When this stress is experienced in little doses, it’s not the worst thing in the world. However, if care isn’t taken, it can lead to more severe consequences on all aspects of your health, including oral health.

So, the big question is, are stress and dental hygiene related? You know, does the toll of your daily life have an impact on how clean and healthy your dentition is?

Stress and Dental Hygiene: 7 Unwanted Impacts on Your Dental Health

1. Poor Oral Routines

As you’re already aware, there are basic routines you need to adopt to keep your mouth clean, fresh, and healthy. Brushing, flossing, and rinsing the mouth—how many of these can you confidently keep up with during periods of heavy stress?

While you might remember to brush in the morning, coming back exhausted and jumping straight to bed means that’s the only time it happens. When this lingers, it slowly builds up some nasty dental issues.

2. Poor Dental Appointments

You don’t have to wait until you have an issue to visit a dentist in Dorking; you can also visit for a routine check. But with limited time and a busy schedule, it’s difficult to squeeze in a visit to the dental clinic.

As a result, it’s often difficult to have certain issues looked at, increasing discomfort and poor teeth condition.

3. Poor Feeding Habits

Stress is known to negatively affect feeding habits, including frequency of eating and occasional consumption of foods that have no nutritional benefits.

When you don’t take care to feed properly, the nutrients needed to strengthen and preserve the teeth become unavailable, opening up the risk of an infection or gum disease.

4. Dry Mouth

Again, stress isn’t the best companion for health because it prevents you from following basic dental hygiene routines such as hydrating. This, in turn, causes dry mouth, which leads to poor saliva production and allows mouth odour to develop.

A dry mouth also affects how well you eat, taste, and enjoy meals. Poor saliva production also affects tooth strength and invites bacteria infiltration, so it’s important to keep the mouth hydrated at all times.

5. Poor Immune System Response

Stress does no good to the immune system as the constant strain put on your physical and mental health reduces your body’s ability to fight off bacteria and other infections. As a result, you’re more vulnerable to dental issues and related infections. 

6. Teeth Grinding

This is a common reaction to stress and other feelings like anxiety and fear. When it happens, you experience constant clenching and unclenching of the teeth, which, in turn, leads to erosion of the enamel and dentin. 

It can also be experienced during sleep, so it’s not something you take lightly. If you’re experiencing bruxism or teeth grinding, this dentist who does veneers in Ballwin recommends getting a nightguard

7. Mouth Sores

Though not always a serious issue, mouth soreness can sometimes result from stress. When it happens, it’s a painful period that eventually goes away. 

Conclusion

There are several indications of stress hurting the state of your oral health. Therefore, be sure to take a break every once in a while to ease up on your oral and overall health.