We have just come through Stress Awareness Month and chances are you were probably too busy and stressed out to notice. That’s part of the problem with our current society. We get so caught up in what is going on in our lives—work, school, emails, texts, bills—that we don’t notice the important things that have an impact on our health.
Stress – it can take its toll on you. Visit your dentist for help with managing stress.
One such area is in our dental health. Although you may not realize it, this area may have an impact on your stress levels. It’s actually a two-way street: By reducing your stress, you reduce your likeliness of having dental problems. And if you reduce your dental problems, then you can actually have less stress in your life.
Snoring/Sleep Apnea
Drowning out your snoring with music from your headphones will not help your stress levels. Unless it’s a meditation you’re listening to!
Although snoring by itself isn’t necessarily a sign of sleep apnea, the two do often go hand-in-hand. This can cause stress for you and your loved ones as it prevents you from getting a good night’ sleep. Your partner is in the same boat as he or she has to stay up all night listening to your snores.
Take this simple test to see what your sleep apnea risk is. Visit your dentist with your concerns.
If you’ve ever had a full night’s sleep and still woken up to feel like you’ve been run over by a truck, then you may have a problem with sleep apnea that keeps you from getting restful sleep. If this is left unchecked, it can harm your heart and lead to major health problems so you should definitely consult your doctor and maybe have a sleep study. One way to fix your snoring, however, is with a mandibular advancement device that resembles a sports mouth guard. It retrains the mouth so that your jaw shifts and your tongue is held in place so as not to cause snoring and apnea. This is a simple solution that can save you untold levels of health problems.
TMJ affects the muscles in the jaw area causing great pain. Your dentist has many options to offer to support you. Henry Vandyke Carter [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
TMJ
If your stress levels cause you to grind your teeth or keep your jaw clenched tightly, then you will find that your jaw can lock and you can start to have serious problems with eating and headaches. This can also be from TMJ.
If you have problems with your jaw popping and migraine headaches that come from your jaw into your temples, then you can use an oral appliance that is specifically designed for your mouth. This oral device can manipulate the jaw to realign it but also prevents you from actually grinding down on your teeth. If your grinding gets too bad, you could wind up cracking a tooth and having a root canal, which is definitely not going to help your stress levels.
All of these devices can be used to help reduce your stress levels by knocking out your symptoms and treating dental issues that are also caused by too much stress.
Dr. Potts is a gentle, caring dentist who uses the most advanced materials and procedures available. He practices comfortable, health-centered dentistry, with a strong emphasis on getting to know each patient. In addition to his technical proficiency, Dr. Potts is a careful listener. He makes sure to understand what you want and will explain beforehand what treatment is best for your individual needs, along with all options available to you.
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