The Effects of Stress on Your Mouth

When you clench or grind your teeth, this is technically known as bruxism. Stress or anxiety can lead to tooth grinding or clenching of the jaw leading to tooth damage. Teeth grinding is a habit that can cause permanent damage to the teeth as it can chip or wear down the enamel. Clenching and grinding can also make the jaw muscles sore, making it difficult to open or close your mouth or chew and bite food. It can also exert pressure on the supportive tissues of your teeth and can eventually result inbone loss if not corrected. Teeth grinding is a condition that occurs unconsciously during night hours. You might not even know if you are suffering from the condition since it happens when you are asleep. If an individual has a tendency of teeth grinding, stress can make the condition worse. According to Australian Dental Association, five to twelve percent of people in Australia suffer from Temporomandibular Joint Disorder which is a condition brought about by teeth grinding.

A majority of people are completely unaware if they grind their teeth since it happens at night while sleeping. However, if you are experiencing the following symptoms, the chances are that you grind your teeth.

Worn Down, Chipped or Fractured Teeth
Grinding your teeth on a regularly can wear down your teeth. It can even flatten them or crack the tooth enamel

Loud noises caused by teeth grinding
Teeth grinding often makes a loud noise to the extent that your partner, family member or a friend you are sharing the same room can hear.

Teeth Sensitivity
Teeth grinding may lead to teeth sensitivity. Youmay experience sensitivity in your teeth and gums any time you take acold or hot drink or food. This can be a sign that your enamel is worn out due to teeth grinding.

Headaches, Migraine, and Earaches
This is another symptom caused by muscle tension brought about teeth grinding.

TMJ
Temporomandibular Joint Inflammation (TMJ) is a painful condition that is characterized by inflammation in the joints that holds the lower jaw in place. The surrounding tissue can become inflamed as well as causing discomfort, pain, and swelling.

Treatment for Teeth Grinding

Treatment for teeth grinding majorly depends on the cause. If it’s due to anxiety, stress, sleep disorder or lifestyle factors, it is important to have a dentist evaluate you. The dentist can develop a treatment plan that is specially designed for you. The other best way of controlling teeth grinding is by wearing occlusal appliance. These appliances have different names including night guards, occlusal splints, bruxism appliances and bite plates. They are custom made in a way that they can fit your top or bottom teeth. The appliances are normally worn at night time.

Gum Disease
Gum disease is an infection of the tissues that surround and support your teeth. It is one of the major cause of tooth loss. Numerous studies have found that stress can lead to gum disease. It is known that stress lowers an individual’s immune system. Prolonged stress can lead to chronically elevated levels of the stress hormone known as cortisol, which contributes in weakening the immune system. When the immune system weakens, the body becomes vulnerable to the action of bacteria from plaque to invade the gums. Some of the warning signs of gum disease include bleeding, swollen and inflamed gums.

It is vital that you visit your dentist as soon as you realize you are suffering from gum disease. The sooner you have treated the better the chances of saving your tooth. The early stage of gum disease is known as gingivitis. At this stage, your gums will be swollen, red and bleed easily. At this early stage, the condition can be reversed by a professional dentist through cleaning followed by daily brushing and flossing.

The advanced level of gum disease is known as periodontitis. It is a condition that affects more than 47% of people over the age of 30 in Australia. It can lead to loss of bone tissue surrounding the teeth and can become severe leading to tooth loss if left untreated. Common features of periodontitis include rapid loss of bone and tissue and may occur in the entire mouth or some specific areas. Research about periodontitis is still ongoing, but some studies associate it with some chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. It is very possible to suffer from gum disease without any warning signs especially if you are under stress. That is why is important that you visit your dentist regularly.

Mouth Ulcers

Stress is one of the main cause of mouth ulcers also known as canker sores,with an average 20% of all adults expected to experience stress related mouth ulcers at one stage in their lives. Additionally, up to 40% of kids under the age of 11 are more likely to experience mouth ulcers due to low immunity. Epidemiological studies have shown that mouth ulcers are most common in women especially those under the age of 45. Mouth ulcers also referred to as minor aphthae, are sores that appear on the inside of the cheeks. Although they are mostly harmless, mouth ulcers can be tremendously uncomfortable and make eating, drinking, and brushing of teeth very difficult. There range in size, and the symptoms will depend on what type of mouth ulcer an individual has.

Types of Mouth Ulcer

Here are the main types of mouth ulcer:

– Minor ulcers. They are about 2-8mm in diameter and usually take 10-14 days to heal.
– Major ulcers. They are bigger and deeper with a raised or irregular border. This type of mouth ulcer may take several weeks to clear up and may leave a scar in the mouth.
– Herpetiform ulcers. This type of mouth ulcer is a cluster of smaller sores the size of pinheads.

Symptoms

Herpetiform Ulcers may:

– Recur very quickly, therefore, infections seem continuous.
– Appear as extremely painful ulcers in the mouth.
– Increase in size and eventually come together to form a large, ragged ulcer.
– Appear anywhere in the mouth.
– Take 10 to more days to clear up.
– They also tend to appear more in women than men and are common in older people.

Symptoms of Minor and Major ulcers:

– The appearance of round lesions that have red edges and are white, gray or yellow in the middle.
– One or more painful sores that may appear on the roof of the mouth, tongue or cheeks.

Pain from mouth ulcers lessen in a few days, and the sores usually clear up without any treatment within a week or two. However, treatment helps to reduce the swelling and ease discomfort. This can help when the sores keep recurring, or your mouth ulcers are affecting eating and drinking.

Self -Care

Things you can do to speed up healing process include:

– Avoid spicy, hard, salty, hot or acidic food and drink until the mouth ulcer heals.
– Use a straw to drink cool drinks.
– Apply a protective paste recommended by the pharmacist.
– Use a soft toothbrush to brush your teeth.
– Use toothpaste that doesn’t contain sodium lauryl sulphate as it may be irritating.
– Avoid things that may be triggering your mouth ulcers.

Pharmacy Medicines

Speak to your pharmacist about the best treatment option for you. Treatment options include:

– Corticosteroid lozenges; they may reduce pain and speed up healing. They are best used as soon as mouth ulcer appears but should not be used by kids under 12 years.
– Antimicrobial mouthwash; It speeds up healing and prevents infection of the ulcer. Children under two years should not use this treatment. It contains chlorhexidine gluconate that may stain teeth.
– Painkillers; they are available as lozenges, mouthwash, gel or spray. They may sting on the first use, but it is temporary. Children under 12 years should not use mouthwash or gel.

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a medical term for recurrent burning in the mouth. This discomfort may affect the lips, tongue, and gums, inside of your cheeks, roof of the mouth or widespread areas of thewhole mouth. The recurrent burning sensation can be very severe as if you scalded your mouth. Dentists and doctors have no specific test for this condition, which makes it difficult to diagnose. Understanding the potential cause and treatment options can help you cope with this condition and find relief. It is said to be caused by some psychological factors brought about by stress. According to Australian Dental Association BMS occurs in about 2% of the population, where women are more likely to receive a diagnosis of this condition than men.

Signs and Symptoms

In BMS, a burning sensation occurs in your lips, tongue, gums, throat or palate. Individuals with the syndrome may describe the burning sensation in the affected parts as scalded or hot as if they have been burnt with a hot fluid. Other symptoms include thesore mouth, dry mouth, numb sensation on the tip of your tongue and a bitter or metallic taste. Some individuals with BMS do not wake up with burning pain but find that pain intensifies during the day and into the evening. Some have constant pain while others feel the pain on and off throughout the day and may also have periods when they feel no pain at all.

Diagnosis

Your dentist or doctor will thoroughly examine your mouth to try and find the cause of the problem. He will also look at your medical history and may refer you to your dentist for more ‘investigations.’ These could be swabs or blood tests to check whether there are any infections, nutritional deficiencies or other medical problems. You may also need to have allergy tests done by a specialist dermatologist if need be. A blood test may also be done to see if you have, for example, diabetes or thyroid problems.

Treatment

In case your dentist finds a health issue or other cause for your BMS, then you have what is known as secondary BMS. He/she will treat the problem, and your symptoms will get better. If not, there is no known cure specifically for burning mouth syndrome, but there are ways to control and ease the symptoms. Your dentist may suggest one or more of these treatments such as anti-depressants, mouth rinse, capsaicin, etc.

Dry Mouth

Dry Mouth which is also called xerostomia is an abnormal dryness of the mucous membranes in the mouth due to a reduction of saliva flow and composition. It can occur as an underlying disorder or side effect of certain medications. The dry mouth itself is not a serious medical condition but contribute to psychological discomfort, poor nutrition, mouth infection and tooth decay if it’s left untreated. Dry mouth is said to have aclose connection with stress levels. There are several reasons why stress and anxiety contribute to dry mouth that include:

Mouth Breathing
People who are suffering from stress and anxiety have a tendency to breathe through their mouth. This causes air to dry out the mouth. Often this type of breathing is due to a response of severe stress and anxiety symptoms like those that occur during a heart attack. Mouth breathing is irritating to saliva and may cause dry mouth.

Dehydration
When people are under intense stress, they might find themselves not taking enough water. Dehydration is a great contributor of dry mouth. If you are under stress or anxiety, you are more likely to notice that your mouth is dry.

Fluid Changes
In some instances, dry mouth can be caused due to the way fluids move around your body while you are under stress. When your body reacts in a fight or flight, some fluids such as water and saliva are taken to other parts of the body where they are required the most. Those suffering from intense stress or anxiety are more likely to experience dry mouth.

Dealing with dry mouth is simple though it might not work for everyone. People with dry mouth are advised to drink lots of water or anything that can keep their mouth moist. Even if dehydration is not the reason for your dry mouth, the cool feeling of water can help take the negative sensation away. Also, you should try and distract yourself as much as possible from your dry mouth. If all of these solutions fail to work for you, the best thing to do is to visit the dentist. Your dentist may give you some recommendations that will work for you.

Tooth Decay
Tooth decay is a deteriorating oral health condition resulting from thebreakdown of tooth enamel. Destruction of the tooth structure associated with tooth decay can lead to thedevelopment of holes in the teeth referred to as teeth cavities. Teeth cavities start small and progressively become bigger when left untreated. Since many cavities are not painful in the beginning, it can be very difficult to realize that a problem exists. Tooth decay occurs when acid is produced from the plaque, which has built up on your teeth. The Plaque produces acid by interacting with food debris on your teeth from starchy and sugary foods. The acids destroy your tooth enamel which weakens the teeth and later forming tooth decay.

Stress can cause oral health neglect and other detrimental habits such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and poor diet. People who are stressed are more likely to consume sugary and starchy foods which may lead to higher chances of tooth decay. Stress can lower your immune system and create a great deal of inflammation in your body. The low immune system along with inflammation can increase the risk of developing tooth decay and gum diseases.

Symptoms

– A toothache; either continuous pain that is keeping you awake or occasional sharp pain without an obvious cause.

– Tooth sensitivity; you may feel some tenderness or pain when eating or drinking hot or cold foods and drinks.

– Black, grey or brown spots on your teeth.

– Unpleasant taste in your mouth.

When a tooth decay is identified before it spreads to the tooth nerve, then your dentist can restore your tooth by removing the decay and replacing it with a filling. If the tooth is left untreated, decay may reach the tooth nerve, meaning that a root canal treatment would more likely be needed.

Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD)

Temporomandibular disorder refers to a variety of conditions that affect the jaw muscles, jaw joints, and facial nerves. This condition may occur when the jaw moves on side motion movements or when it is opening or closing. People suffering from TMD may experience some pain in or around the neck, ear, and headache. They may also experience jaw pain when chewing or biting. TMD also cause patients to have sensitive teeth and experience a popping sound while opening or closing their mouth.
When the body is under some stress, muscle tense up. Muscle tension is a form of reflex action to stress. It is an involuntary body reaction to stress guarding itself against pain and injury. Chronic stress keeps the body muscles in a constant state of guardedness. When you are under stress for a long time, this might trigger the body to produce some stress-related disorders. For example, the tension caused can bring about a migraine and neck pain.

Oral Lichen Planus

This is a chronic inflammation that affects mucous membrane inside the mouth. Oral lichen may look like white, lacy patches, swollen red tissues or open sores. They may cause a burning pain or discomfort. Some experts believe that this condition is a reaction to viral infection caused by stress.

Suggestions for Stress Reduction

Eat Proper Diet

Plant-based foods are better. They help in maintaining your body chemistry in analkaline state. Processed foods, refined sugars, meat and other heavy protein foods, fast foods and acidic systems produces inflammation. Inflammation is one of the causes of stress.

Exercise

Exercise promotes the production of neurohormones such as norepinephrine that helps in improving cognitive function, elevated mood and learning. It forces the psychological systems of the body all of which are involved in stress response to communicating closely with each other. The muscular system communicates with the renal system which communicates with thecardiovascular system. The more exercise one undertakes, the less efficient the body is to stress.

Volunteer

Volunteering provides a myriad of benefits both on physical health and mental health. It can provide a sense of purpose, increase self-confidence, reduce stress, improve mood, reduce anxiety and promote afeeling of gratitude.

Be Grateful

Gratitude emits a positive emotion. It assists people to better cope with stress, improve theimmune system, faster recovery from certain dental procedures and improved sleep. Being grateful also protects you from any negative emotions. People who engage in gratitude practices are known to have lower blood pressure, feel less pain, less likely to develop amental disorder and visits the doctor less often.

Positive Affirmations

Positive affirmation is a great way of staying away from negative thoughts. The idea is to absorb positive statement and repeat them enough to make them part of your thinking. It helps you see the world in a positive perspective. By positive affirmation, you will receive a calming effect that will help you reduce stress.

Everyone does experience stress at some point in life. Your overall health and oral health can be affected if the stress is consistent or extreme. If you are feeling stressed up, talk to a medical professional or a health care provider for assistance. They will be able to guide you on how to manage your condition. Similarly, don’t let dental health problems add to your stress. Your dentist knows how stress can affect your oral health and visiting your dentist regularly will be able to manage your oral routine during stressful times.