Your overall health and well-being can dramatically impact your oral health, as well as the appearance of your smile. With that in mind, our Toluca Lake dentists are going to be talking about dental changes that come along with stress and anxiety. Keep reading to learn more…
Dental Grinding
One behavior that many anxiety sufferers deal with is dental grinding. If you find yourself clenching your teeth, or moving your jaw back and forth during times of stress, you should talk to your dental team about what you can do to protect your smile. This type of movement, when repeated over time, can lead to dental damage, gum recession, enamel erosion, and tooth fractures.
Dry Mouth
For many people, anxiety and stress come along with persistent dry mouth. Additionally, many medications that are used to treat anxiety have dry mouth as a potential side effect. This is more than merely inconvenient: chronic dry mouth will increase your likelihood of developing dental cavities, gum disease, and halitosis.
Oral Hygiene Problems
When we are overwhelmed, we will often allow certain parts of our routines to fall by the wayside, and this includes oral hygiene. You may start rushing through your routine or skipping steps altogether. If you are finding it harder and harder to maintain fresh breath, this may be an indicator that you need to reassess your dental cleaning routine.
If you think that any of these issues are negatively impacting your own smile, our Toluca Lake dentists are here to help you make a plan to regain oral health. Please don’t hesitate to give us a call to learn more and get started!