Is brushing your teeth an easy part of your dental routine, but flossing is a hassle? Has it been a while since your last check-up and cleaning? While taking care of your teeth might seem like a minor detail in a day full of to-do jobs, it’s actually an essential part of both your dental and mental health.
More than just the satisfaction you get after a deep cleaning from the hygienist gives you smooth and shiny teeth, dental health is a key indicator of your overall wellness. When your teeth aren’t taken care of, it’s a quick downward slide to poor self-esteem and other mental health issues.
In this article, we’ll discuss the intricate link between dental health and mental wellness.
1. Dental Health and Mental Disorders
First, let’s look at the ways bad dental hygiene can exacerbate or initiate mental health disorders. What does “poor dental health” mean, anyway?
When someone’s oral health suffers, it’s never an overnight condition. It’s the result of months or years of neglecting brushing and flossing or eating too many sugary or acidic foods. It also happens when a person uses tobacco products regularly.
During the decline from healthy to unhealthy teeth, many symptoms arise, such as:
- Plaque and tartar buildup
- Bad breath
- Tooth decay and cavities
- Bleeding gums
- Sensitive teeth and gums
These changes to your smile can have a detrimental effect on your confidence, causing you to feel insecure about your teeth and hide your grin or reduce time around other people. If you already have mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, or social phobias, the knowledge that your teeth are in disrepair can trigger your symptoms.
2. Mental Health and Dental Conditions
But like the chicken and the egg question, it’s possible to flip mental and dental health and see that poor mental health can lead to unhealthy teeth and gums.
Think about the last time you had to do something you didn’t want to do when you were stressed or tired. You may have convinced yourself to skip it. When your mental health is struggling, you probably lack the energy or desire to do even the most basic things, like showering, washing your hair, and brushing your teeth.
This is okay occasionally, but for people who struggle with ongoing mental health disorders, the lack of care for basic hygiene can lead to serious dental issues. Research links many mental health conditions with poor nutrition, bringing the vicious cycle of not brushing and eating sugary and acidic foods full circle.
Stress and anxiety are also connected to sleep disorders like bruxism, a condition characterized by teeth grinding and jaw clenching. Left untreated, bruxism causes symptoms such as headaches, jaw muscle pain, and tooth erosion. Over time, this disorder can cause substantial dental issues, damaging the gums and leading to painful conditions like exposed dentin, as explained in this article by JS Dental Lab.
3. Dental, Mental, and Physical Health
Adding up the damage to your mental and dental health, it’s not surprising that the long-term consequences can damage you physically, too. Once again, like the cycle mentioned earlier, when your oral health impacts your physical well-being, your mental health often suffers along with it.
Dental issues like chronic gum disease, or periodontitis, are connected to serious health conditions. When periodontal disease is untreated, it leads to problems like loose and lost teeth, bone deterioration, and infection. Should that infection get into the bloodstream, it can become deadly. Those with periodontal disease are also at higher risk for cardiovascular disorders, type II diabetes, and cognitive decline.
Gum disease could also be related to certain respiratory issues. Our mouths are full of bacteria, and when we don’t brush regularly, these bacteria multiply, causing plaque and tartar buildup. Eventually, there can be so much bacteria that it travels through the respiratory tract into the lungs.
Some studies show that people with multiple missing teeth have a higher risk of obesity, as well. This connection could be due to the difficulty that comes with chewing harder, low-calorie foods like fruits and vegetables.
Each of these conditions can be detrimental enough to cause an increase in symptoms of mental health disorders, intricately connecting the three types of health together.
Condition
Because of the strong connection between dental and mental health, if you’re struggling with one area, it’s vital to pay attention to the other. Visit your dentist regularly, increase your oral health routine, and watch for signs that your mental health is suffering. Just as we visit our dentist for teeth and gum health, it’s okay to reach out to professionals for a little deep cleaning of your mental health, too!