The Effects of Stress On Your Oral Health

Stress and Your Oral Health

Excessive stress can have a strong effect on your overall health. It invites heart disease, reduces your immune system, and can even take a disastrous toll on your teeth and gums. There are numerous ways that stress can be detrimental to your oral health, including all of the following:

• Stress often serves as the root cause of tooth grinding and clenching of the jaw, which breaks down tooth enamel and pushes teeth out of alignment.
• Some people have a nervous habit of chewing when they feel stress, which puts you at risk of breaking a tooth.
• Canker sores, cold sores, and similar sores may sometimes be caused or aggravated by stress.
• Excess stress can aggravate gum disease.
• Many people overeat when they feel stressed, favoring sugary comfort foods that invite tooth decay.
• Stress can lead to depression, which causes people to neglect their dental care routine.

Talk to our Bellevue Dentist

If you have too much stress in your life, our Bellevue dentistry clinic advises that you take measures to manage it. Further, be sure to always keep your regular dental appointments to best assure that you catch any dental problems before they become serious.