Taking Stress Out On Your Teeth

These days there are innumerable cases of stress seen at dentists. Isn’t this a bit surprising? Well yes, there is a huge connection between tooth pain, stress, anxiety. During routine dental examinations and cleanings, dentists are able to detect oral symptoms of stress, including orofacial pain, bruxism, temporomandibular disorders (TMD), mouth sores and gum disease.

Check out for the issues that are caused due to tension and anxiousness. As the dentists say, stress and oral health go hand in hand.

 

Bruxism

Grinding teeth and clenching jaws is known as Bruxism in technical terms which are generally caused by sleep disorders, biting abnormally or missing/crooked teeth. Stress and anxiety, nervous tension, anger and frustration cause people to start showing the signs of bruxism without even knowing it. This is called oral anxiety.

The common signs of bruxism are as follows: 

  • Tips of the teeth appear flat
  • Tooth enamel is rubbed off, causing extreme sensitivity
  • Tongue indentations
  • Your dentist can examine your teeth to determine whether you may have bruxism and if so, can suggest the best method of treatment.

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Temporomandibular disorders (TMD)

TMD is a group of conditions affecting the temporomandibular joint commonly known as the jaw joint and is caused due to stress. The TMD is aggravated by causing overuse of jaw muscles, specifically clenching or grinding teeth, as with bruxism. Jaw joint pain or popping and clicking of the jaw are the common signs of TMD apart from those that happen in bruxism.  

 

Gum disease

Emotional factors play a significant role in the development of adult gum disease and the severity of the same is increased with the amount of stress experienced in one’s previous 12 months.

 

Canker sores

Canker sores commonly known as mouth ulcers that occur inside the mouth and are not contagious are triggered by trauma such as biting your cheek, jabbing your gum with your toothbrush or even overzealous tooth cleaning.

 

Maintaining your oral health when stressed

One of the best ways to fight the negative effects of stress is to remove the source of stress. If it’s not possible, counselling, exercises such as yoga or jogging, relaxation or meditation or even massage and physical therapy may help reduce your tension.

 

Rouse Hill Smiles Dental Care is a great dental clinic for a regular oral check-up or any kinds of tooth treatments related to teeth stress. You can check about them here – https://www.rousehillsmilesdentalcare.com.au.