Is Your Stress Affecting Your Smile?

You may think that stress is something that’s separate from your body. You think, worry, and experience anxiety but you assume it’s all in your mind. The truth is, stress affects your body, too, and can have a negative impact on your oral health. Did you know that stress often shows up as muscle tension? Let’s sort through some important information regarding what unmanaged stress may be doing to your oral structures and what you can do to make things better.

What Stress May Cause

Stress may cause all sorts of problems for your oral health! Let’s cover some of the main areas of concern that you may find yourself facing when you let any type of stress, tension, or anxiety go unchecked:

• Stress encourages bruxism disorder, which happens when you grind and clench your teeth
• Stress can contribute to TMJ disorder, which means your jaw joints aren’t as healthy as they could be and are, as a result, not working as well
• Stress may result in lower saliva production, which threatens the pH and health of your mouth

How To Address The Specific Concern

If you’re dealing with one of the aforementioned problems or something else associated with stress, remember: We are here to offer you the oral health protection you need! Talk with us about treatment specific to the issue or damage that has developed. For instance, TMJ treatment will help protect your jaw joints, while a crown can restore a damaged tooth.

What To Do About Those Stress Levels

Let us know what’s going on! We can speak with you about the best ways to approach managing unchecked stress, anxiety, etc. Some patients need creative outlets, while others seek meditative or athletic stress relief. There are many, many options!

Address Stress To Best Protect Your Smile

Remember that we are happy to help you with the results of stress and are also more than happy to offer suggestions for stress management, so you can more easily maintain healthy teeth and gums. To learn more, schedule an appointment with your dentist by calling Allen & Neumann Family Dentistry in Pella, IA, today at (641) 628-1121.