Your friends here at Fairchance Dental Arts know the importance of a great smile. When you have a healthy and happy smile, you share it with friends and loved ones more often, brightening everyone’s day including your own!
But did you know that a smile can actually change your stress levels? When your oral health is suffering you may notice that you feel more on edge or you are suffering from other whole-body health issues.
In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at how our whole body wellness begins with oral health and what steps we can take to improve both.
Dental Stress Takes a Toll on Your Body
Stress is an unavoidable part of modern life; from social demands, and workplace burnout, to juggling family schedules, it never seems to stop. However, this is the kind of stress we can conceptualize because it is tied to an activity.
However, there is a different kind of stress that exists when you have poor oral health: a constant, elevated level of stress. One that you might not even be aware of.
Several dental issues such as gum disease, TMJ/TMD, bruxism, and even obstructive sleep apnea can increase your levels of cortisol (the stress hormone). The conditions can put the soft tissue of your mouth under constraint strain, which causes your gum and mouth to become inflamed.
Unfortunately this method relies on increased cortisol levels. And if these ongoing oral health issues are never resolved, areas like your gums will simply continue to be inflamed while keeping your stress levels at an unhealthy level.
More Than Just an Oral Health Stressor
Unlike other stressors where you can get relief by finally accomplishing a task or removing yourself from certain situations, the stress from poor dental care isn’t so easily resolved. More often than not, the cortisol build-up causes a constant mental and physical strain and will only go away when your oral health improves.
This increases your chances of developing non-dental health risks such as:
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Respiratory disease
- Osteoporosis
- Poorer immune function
That’s not even mentioning the risks to your dental health like tooth loss or periodontal infection!
However, treating your oral health can lower your stress and prevent you from whole-body illnesses.
Dental Care with Whole Body Benefits
At our office, your treatments do more than just improve your oral health and get you a beaming smile. Thanks to our personalized treatment plans, you will get the dental care you deserve while enjoying whole-body benefits!
Here are just a few examples:
Routine Dental Checkups
It is recommended that you get a dental exam once every six months. This helps keep your mouth clean and lowers your risk of gum disease. In addition, we can perform oral cancer screenings to ensure your safety and peace of mind.
TMD Mouthguards
If you suffer from bruxism (chronic tooth grinding) or other TMJ/TMD symptoms, your stress can manifest in a lot of agonizing ways; muscle tension, pain in the neck and shoulders, even persistent migraines. Thankfully we can provide an easy solution with our TMD mouthguards, offering quick and convenient relief.
Airway Orthodontics
Obstructive sleep apnea is often caused by changes in our mouths and disrupts necessary airflow. This causes our quality of sleep to drop, preventing us from getting the restorative rest we need so we feel fatigued and stressed out in the mornings. However, our airway orthodontic solutions can create a customized splint to properly align your mouth and let you breathe easy each night.
Call Today for Oral Care and Whole Body Wellness
At Fairchance Dental Arts, we are more than just your home for a beaming smile. We are here to help you get the dental care that you deserve, offering personalized and practical treatment plans that optimize your oral health and improve your overall wellbeing.
Whether you or a loved one are interested in orthodontic options, restoration solutions, or general dentistry, we are here to help. Contact our office today and schedule your consultation!