4 Reasons Why Stress Could Land You in a Scottsbluff Dental Office

The physical symptoms that you might experience due to stress can be unusual. It can affect your body in ways that you might not expect, and you’ll be shocked to find yourself sitting in a Scottsbluff dental office if you are unable to get a handle on things.
If your to-do list has gotten out of hand and all of life’s affairs have become increasingly overwhelming, be on the lookout for these 4 symptoms of stress that can impart real damage to your teeth:

  1. Mounting stress can make you feel like vomiting—literally. Many of us suffer from nausea, vomiting, and heartburn when the going gets tough. This sickly feeling can occur repeatedly, over an extended period of days or weeks, depending upon your ability to manage the stress. Unfortunately, this exposes your teeth to an acid bath every day, causing permanent enamel erosion.
  2. Stress can just about shut your immune system down, and you are extremely vulnerable to all types of illnesses during this time. Gum disease and inflammation can flare up when your defenses are low, and you might notice tenderness, bleeding, and irreversible bone loss.
  3. If stress makes you want to eat, pay close attention to the rate at which you are eating more junk food or snacking more frequently. The extra carbohydrates and food particles, combined with less brushing and flossing, could spell C-A-V-I-T-Y before you know it.
  4. The tightly-wound feeling of stress can lead to gritting the teeth, jaw pain, and headaches. This symptom is most often manifested at night when you are helpless to control your muscle and jaw movements. These symptoms are commonly known as TMJ or TMD, and can contribute to the permanent destruction of the teeth, joints, and muscles.

Take some time to make sure that the strain of life isn’t wreaking havoc on your teeth by consulting a dentist in Scottsbluff today.