Stress and anxiety are two powerful emotions and hormone responses that can change the way that your body responds to many different situations. In fact, these two frustrating and often related factors can show up in your oral health! There are common things that can happen, and then the less common, but all of the different side effects can cause long-term damage if not taken care of. Let’s go over how stress and anxiety can show up in your mouth.
Stress-related Bruxism
First, we need to address the elephant in the room that no one wants to admit they have: bruxism. This is the medical way of saying you grind or clench your teeth to a degree that it causes some sort of damage to your mouth, jaw, or teeth. There are so many side effects of this one action!
To read all about the side effects of bruxism, take a look at this JS Dental Lab blog; it has some great information. We’re going to touch on a few of the ways you can tell that you have bruxism and may need to seek help from an approved lab or your dentist.
Tooth Sensitivity
Have you ever taken a bite of something firm and suddenly felt like your tooth had just been to the gym all day? That’s a kind of tooth sensitivity to watch out for. Not only can you feel sore, but you can also feel sharp pains if parts of your enamel have been worn away, exposing a very sensitive nerve cluster in your tooth!
Bite Marks
Did you wake up this morning with ridges along the sides of your mouth? Maybe there were sore spots that fit in line with your bite. This can be a sign of stress and bruxism in your mouth because, in your sleep, you end up accidentally biting (and sometimes even chewing) the inside of your mouth. It can be very painful because the jaw can exert a lot of power, especially when not in control and under the influence of your subconscious.
Pieces of Teeth
Yes! You can find pieces of teeth, or rather, worn enamel, pieces of old fillings, and even fractures in your teeth because of bruxism. One way you can tell that this type of damage is happening is through tooth sensitivity, but also feeling changes in your bite and along the shape of your teeth. Another way to tell if this is happening is if you feel like you have grit or sand between your teeth when you bite down. This is not normal! You should definitely get in to see your dentist as soon as possible.
Scalloped Tongue
While not as scary as finding pieces of teeth in your mouth, a scalloped tongue is another common side effect of stress and anxiety in the mouth. This is more associated with clenching your teeth and creating a strong sense of suction in the mouth.
Your tongue naturally settles between your teeth and stays there so that you can breathe at night. If you are clenching your jaw, you may find that the suction caused by stress and clenching creates small scalloped shapes along the side of your tongue. These can be sore and develop into sores if the right steps aren’t taken.
Dry Mouth
Dry mouth, also known as xerostomia, is another way that stress can show up. This is caused by a few different situations that relate to stress. One is that you may not be drinking enough water to help hydrate your mouth. Two, stress hormones kick into high gear and can actually cause your salivary glands to slow down to the point of causing dry mouth! Some medications can help, but drinking more water can also help with the stress and effects of dry mouth.
The Final Straw: Gum Disease
We’ve all heard of it, and our dentists will always warn against it: the dreaded gingivitis. It is something to be concerned about because you never know what can happen with gingivitis if you aren’t managing it. But how does this relate to stress?
Well, if you have dry mouth going on and you probably aren’t following your oral hygiene routine to a ‘t’, then gingivitis can become aggressive, especially with the lowered immune system of someone suffering from stress and anxiety. All in all, make sure you are taking care of yourself and your teeth when dealing with stress and anxiety on a constant basis.
