Most people deal with stress occasionally. A little bit of acute stress is totally fine, such as when preparing for a presentation or striving to meet an important work deadline. However, chronic stress can lead to many health issues and leave you feeling down. Additionally, ongoing stress can worsen oral health, increasing your risk of tooth decay, gum disease, and other problems. This article explores several ways that stress can harm your teeth and gums.

1. It can lead to teeth grinding

Teeth grinding can have many causes, but stress is one of the most common. Stress can make you clench your jaw unknowingly, grinding the teeth together. This happens more often when you sleep since you’re unconscious. Chronic teeth grinding can wear down and chip the teeth. It can also cause gum recession, exposing more sensitive tooth roots and leading to sensitivity and discomfort when eating.

Dental crowns, a form of restorative dentistry, may be needed to rectify this issue. The teeth caps on dental crowns replace the upper half of the real teeth to restore the look and function. Constant clenching and grinding can also create temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues, which may include jaw pain and headaches.

2. It can create canker sores

Aphthous ulcers, which are commonly known as canker sores, are painful sores that can appear on your gums, the inside of your cheeks, the roof of your mouth, and other tissues in the mouth. Many factors can cause canker sores, including nutritional deficiencies, excess food from acids, or trauma. Experts aren’t sure of the exact link, but some suspect it’s due to chronic stress weakening the immune system. It may also be because stress can cause you to unconsciously bite and chew tissues in the mouth more, allowing canker sores to form.

3. It can contribute to tooth decay and gum disease

As mentioned, stress weakens the immune system. This allows more bacteria to survive and thrive in your mouth, accelerating tooth decay and gum disease. These bacteria can also potentially get into your teeth and infect the pulp. Infections can weaken the immune system further, creating a vicious cycle. Similarly, chronic stress worsens your sleep, which weakens the immune system even more and slows recovery. Furthermore, chronic stress can increase urges to eat unhealthy foods, such as sweets. These provide bacteria food that they convert to acid in the mouth, causing more erosion.

4. It can cause dry mouth

Saliva plays a crucial role in your digestion by helping to break down food in your mouth alongside your teeth chewing actions. It also helps wash away food debris that would otherwise get stuck to your teeth and gums, which can help reduce your risk of cavities and gum disease.

Stress can lead to xerostomia, or dry mouth, a condition where your salivary glands don’t produce enough saliva. This can worsen digestion, create discomfort in the mouth, and accelerate tooth decay and gum disease.

People under a lot of stress may also breathe quicker and do so through the mouth, which can worsen dry mouth. Drinking water may help relieve some of the dryness and facilitate saliva production. However, reducing the underlying stress can be key to fixing dry mouth.

The bottom line

Chronic stress impacts your oral health in several ways. It can increase your gum disease and tooth decay risks, make you grind your teeth, lead to canker sores, and cause dry mouth. So, good stress management is crucial. Spend a few minutes each day slowing down, unplugging, and engaging in mindfulness or other stress management techniques. Make time for social connections and relationships. Seek help through counseling or therapy if needed. Learning to manage and reduce stress won’t just benefit your oral health, but will also improve your overall health and happiness.