The Link Between Dental Health & Stress

Stress is inescapable, especially with everything going on in our world right now. It’s widely known that stress harms our health, but it’s less widely known that this also extends to dental health.

Our bodies were built to withstand short, temporary bursts of stress. However, when stress levels are continuously elevated, it will eventually become very damaging to emotional, physical, and dental health.

5 Dental Problems Caused or Exacerbated by Stress 

Below are 5 of the ways that stress may manifest in your dental health:

• Cold Sores – If you’re already susceptible to cold sores, higher-than-average stress can lead to an outbreak. Stress weakens your immune system, which allows the virus that causes cold sores (herpes simplex virus or HSV) to sneak past your defenses. Cold sores can be painful, but they usually go away on their own after a week or two.
• Gum Disease – As stated above, stress weakens your immune system. It can also decrease the body’s ability to rid the mouth of harmful bacteria. If these bacteria are allowed to build upon the teeth, you become vulnerable to gum disease and gingivitis.
• Canker Sores – Similar to cold sores, canker sores are also a common result of stress. Canker sores shouldn’t last more than a week or so, but if you’re looking for a way to ease the pain of canker sores while they heal, there are over-the-counter rinses and gels found next to the toothpaste in most drugstores.
• Neglect of Oral Hygiene – Most of us got in some unhealthy habits during quarantine! This may have included neglecting your dental hygiene routine. Once you let your guard down, it doesn’t take long for plaque and bacteria to build up and begin wreaking havoc on your tooth enamel. Set a reminder on your phone and make sure to stay on top of your routine!
• Bruxism – Lastly, bruxism is a common result of stress. But it’s tricky, because you may not even know you have it! Bruxism is the term for the nighttime clenching of the jaw and grinding of the teeth. This condition will put a lot of stress on the jaw and teeth, causing headaches, pain, or chipping and cracking of the teeth.

If you’re concerned about how your stress could be impacting your dental health, or if you need to make an appointment for a cleaning and a checkup, please call Jennifer Lopez Dental in beautiful Miami, Florida. Dr. Lopez looks forward to seeing you!