Dental Problems Caused By Stress

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Cleaning them regularly, eating a healthy diet and paying frequent visits for check-ups at your dental clinic can all play their part, but there are still some problems which might manage to sneak in under the radar.

Feeling unhappy about the state of your teeth and the appearance of your smile can have a major detrimental effect upon your life. The knowledge that the people you meet are going to form their first judgement of you based upon the appearance of grey, chipped or crooked teeth will get in the way of you freely expressing yourself. If you feel self-conscious and embarrassed about your smile, then you won’t be able to relax and interact freely, and the people you engage with, whether in a work or social setting, will feel similarly ill at ease.

Fortunately, a modern dental clinics will be able to provide a range of treatments able to deal with absolutely any problem which is stopping you having the smile you’ve always dreamed of. If you’re teeth are crooked, then they can be straightened, a chipped tooth can be covered with a veneer and teeth which are dull or grey can be transformed using modern whitening techniques. Once your teeth have been transformed, what’s more, taking the advice of a hygiene expert in London will enable you to maintain the stunning makeover in the long term. No matter how carefully you follow this advice however, and how much work your orthodontist puts in to transforming your smile, there are still some problems which can effect anybody and one of these is something known as bruxism.

In simple terms, bruxism is the act of grinding and clenching your teeth, rubbing the surfaces together in a manner which wears and damages the enamel. In times of high stress people tend to grind their teeth more, and with the current economic problems facing virtually all sectors of society, dentists are reporting a huge increase in the number of patients presenting with the symptoms of tooth grinding.

These symptoms can include chipped or broken teeth or over sensitivity caused by worn enamel. If you grind your teeth during the day then there’s a chance that you may be aware you’re doing it, but many people tend to grind their teeth when their asleep at night. If you’re lucky, your partner may hear the characteristic ‘creaking’ noise caused by grinding teeth, but, if they don’t, the symptoms to look out for include tooth sensitivity, ringing in the ears, an aching jaw joint, sensitive teeth and headaches.

Dealing with the teeth which have been damaged by grinding is often a case of accessing treatment such as crowns or implants, but there are also preventative steps which can be taken. In the long term, of course, the best thing to do is to deal with the underlying factors which are causing the stress in the first place. More immediately, your dentist will be able to fit you with a custom made guard, which fits over the teeth and stops them grinding together whilst you sleep.

The stress of modern life can have many detrimental effects, and your teeth are not immune to this. Working with your dentist, however, you should be in a position to prevent the worst excesses of stress related nocturnal teeth grinding, as well as sorting out the problems it causes.