Your tongue can provide a surprising picture of your overall health and wellness. One of the reasons regular visits to your dentist are so important is because dentists can often spot problems in their early stages. While some tongue issues are directly linked to oral health and hygiene, your dentist can be one of the first responders for several other emerging conditions.
It’s undeniable that stress is bad. From sleepless nights spent worrying about your job, your loved ones and world events, it can be hard to escape daily anxieties that we all face. Plenty of research has been done on the effects of stress on systemic health, but we rarely talk about the impact worry can have on your dental and oral health — and it’s a doozy.
Stress and Your Gums
Healthy gums are vital to a healthy mouth — they hold our teeth in place and form a sort of soft armor around the deeper parts of dental tissue. They prevent potentially harmful oral bacteria from entering our bloodstream, as well.
When you’re stressed out, your body amps up the production of a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is aptly referred to as the “stress hormone.” Responsible for putting our bodies into fight-or-flight mode when faced with a serious threat, cortisol also has smaller, less noticeable effects in our daily lives even when we’re not in a life-or-death situation.
At proper levels, cortisol can help regulate everything from immune function to digestion, but when things get out of whack because of stress, cortisol signals the body to go haywire.
Improper cortisol levels can lead to increased inflammation, which can in turn affect sensitive gums and contribute to a worsening of gum disease or its more severe cousin, periodontal disease.
Stress and Your Teeth
Grinding, gnashing and clenching your jaw may be par for the course when you’re stressed, but these actions are actually hurting your teeth — you may be grinding them down to actual nubs. For many people feeling a little stressed out, it’s enough to focus on consciously relaxing and untightening your jaw. But not everyone’s anxiety is easily solved.
Some people respond to stress by grinding their teeth at night, a condition called bruxism. Bruxism is sometimes treated with prescription medication, but the most effective nonpharmaceutical option is a mouthguard. Your dentist can help advise the proper course of treatment for your nocturnal teeth grinding and get you hooked up with a custom-fitted mouthguard to stop the damage.
Steps You Can Take to Tackle Stress
Stress management requires a holistic approach. And because no one knows what’s going on in your life better than you, the approach you take needs to be tailored to your unique needs and situation.
Talk to your doctor or other health care professional for ways to manage stress, worry and anxiety in your day-to-day life, as well as look for ways to stem its effects on your overall health. You may, for example, find therapy and medication useful. Or you may embark on a de-stressing routine of utilizing yoga or meditation. No one solution is right for everybody, and you may find a combination of strategies is the best for you.
When it comes to stress’s effect on your teeth, your dentist is your go-to for ways to mitigate damage. Depending on the problems stress is causing for your teeth, tongue and gums, different treatments may be recommended. Keeping your mouth in good condition by practicing good home care — brushing, flossing and rinsing as recommended — is an excellent baseline. Some people find the time spent brushing is an excellent time to take deep breaths and focus on calming themselves before facing the day ahead or winding down for bed — something that may quell anxiety and stress.
How We Can Help
At the office of Drs. Krieger and Hur, we recognize that booking a trip to the dentist can be stressful in and of itself. We take every care to make your visit as pain-free as possible. If you’re nervous, just let our staff know when you book your appointment and we’ll work with you to ease your fears as you come in for an exam to determine what to do about stress’s effects on your oral health.
Whether you need a custom mouthguard to stop damage from grinding your teeth at night or some extra care for gums that are going through it because of increased inflammation, we can help. The first step to seeing what we can do is booking an appointment for a regular exam to help us get an idea of what we’re working with — and give you a chance to tell us what’s going on.
You can reach out to our office and book an appointment by calling us at (201) 560-0606. You can also book your spot via email by clicking here — someone will get back to you about your appointment. Again, if visiting the dentist is a source of stress, say something! We won’t judge, and we’ll do all we can to accomodate your needs.
Dental Benefits | Dental Fear | Dental Hygiene | Oral Health | Wellness
All water isn’t created equal — different mineral contents and additives lend this staple beverage different tastes. And it’s the different taste, along with the purported benefits of certain kinds of water and the grab-and-go convenience, that have helped give rise to a bottled water industry that’s worth over $300 billion. While water is and always has been the healthiest option for you — for both your overall health and that of your teeth — trendy bottled waters may actually be doing more harm than good.
Dental Benefits | Dental History | Dental Hygiene | Oral Health | Teeth | Wellness
There’s an obscure, fun holiday for nearly every occasion, and celebrating your favorite dental professionals is no exception. Two holidays that give you an excuse to say “thank you” to the people behind your stellar smile exist in the month of March: National Dentist’s Day and Dental Assistants Recognition Week.
Dental Forensics | Dental History | Dental Hygiene | General Dentistry | Oral Health
It’s hard to imagine that human teeth have changed throughout history, but they have. Some of our earliest human ancestors — the people who were people before the Homo sapiens existed — dating back seven million years had remarkably different dentition than we do today. While some early hominids, such as Australopithecus afarensis, had the same number of teeth as we do, they were spaced differently due to differences in the size and shape of the jawbone.
Despite these differences in structure, it was thought that early humans didn’t consume nearly as much hard, woody plant matter (like seeds, nuts and shells) as they could have. But new research points to quite the opposite — that tougher plant matter made up a large portion of early human diets without causing painful or undue wear and tear on the earliest hominids’ teeth.
Braces & Invisalign | Children | Dental Benefits | Dental Hygiene | General Dentistry | Oral Health | Teeth | Wellness
Raising kids is busy work. Parents of infants know how easy it is to get caught up in the day-to-day routine of ensuring baby is happy, healthy and developing properly. Moms and dads of toddlers and preschoolers are always on the go, seemingly doing it all with little to no sleep. Parents with school-aged children are swept up in spirit days, snack duty and extracurricular activities, while parents of teens may be left wondering where all the time went as they tackle broken hearts and college entrance exams.
Brushing | Dental Benefits | Dental Fear | Dental Hygiene | Oral Health | Teeth
Whether you’re looking for a couple’s date idea for you and your significant other for Valentine’s Day or are single and looking to kick up your dating life, a trip to the dentist can be a practical way to get things going. While it sounds as far from romantic as you can get, science has proven time and time again that good oral health can improve your romantic prospects and launch your love life into high gear.
Dental Benefits | Dental Hygiene | Dental Implants | Oral Health | Oral Surgery | Teeth | Wellness
Not even a decade ago, the world of 3D printing in dentistry sounded a lot like science fiction. Today, you can walk into your dentist’s office and have your mouth scanned and get a completely customized device fit to your unique mouth printed from a computer. Although it’s still hard to believe how far technology has come, 3D printing is becoming more and more commonplace in the dental industry — streamlining treatments, saving costs and creating a better fit for patients.
It’s the morning of a job interview or a big date, and all of a sudden you’ve got a huge blemish right on the corner of your lip — how embarrassing! You’re pretty sure it’s not a pimple or zit, but what could it be — a canker sore or a cold sore? How do you tell the difference? Or maybe, just maybe, you’ve got an irritated ulcer on the inside of your mouth driving you nuts. Blemishes, ulcers and sores are, unfortunately, part of the human condition. Although it’s tempting to ignore them because they’re unsightly and uncomfortable, when it comes to your oral health, it pays to pay attention to them.
Dental Benefits | Dental Fear | Dental Hygiene | Dental Implants | Oral Health | Teeth | Toothpaste | Wellness
Celebs and social media influencers always seem to have the brightest smiles. There’s a lot you can do to make the most of what nature gave you, but those in the spotlight may not exactly be au naturel when it comes to showing their pearly whites. If you, too, are searching for a million-dollar smile without spending big bucks, it can pay to try out some of the handy tips, tricks and lifehacks that’ll give you an Instagram-worthy grin.
