Stress may not just induce headaches or rapid weight loss; it can also cause irreversible damage to your teeth. How? Why in the form of teeth grinding. During the start of the recession, dentists saw an unprecedented rise in patients with bruxism, or teeth grinding. One of the causes of bruxism is stress and during those periods of economic uncertainty, you can bet that the air was bathed with anxiety.
Fortunately, in an article which was published by the Head and Face Medicine coping with stress is an effective way to treat bruxism or teeth grinding. People who choose to ignore stress are more prone to bruxism. Some of the complications of teeth grinding include teeth sensitivity and enamel erosion due to the incessant friction. So if you don’t want stress to wear your teeth down, here are some ways that you could get rid of all that anxiety:
1. Get enough sleep.
If you’re neck deep with work, a good night’s sleep may be very elusive. However, studies have shown that getting enough sleep will give you a clearer state of mind which will then allow you to handle stressful situations much better.
2. Have time for exercise.
Very busy individuals would much rather use their time on the treadmill to work instead. However, exercise is not just an optional thing for busy professionals – it’s a requirement for beating out stress. Exercise induces your body to release endorphins which make you feel happy and less anxious.
3. Take time to vent.
Sometimes, the reason for why people become more stressed than they are may be because they do not take the time to talk about whatever it is that is stressing them. When you keep all that stress inside of you, cracks will begin to show and you could implode. If you’re under so much pressure lately, schedule an appointment with a therapist and vent.
Protecting your teeth. Of course, the process of beating out stress could drag out for so long that by the time you are a happy, well-adjusted individuals, your teeth may have been reduced to mere stumps already. So while you settle your problems with anxiety, ask your dentist for a mouth guard. This dental appliance is also used by athletes in order to protect their teeth from fractures while playing their sport. Mouth guards separate your teeth from each other in order to protect their enamel from being damaged from all the friction that comes with teeth grinding.
Restorative Dentist Fayetteville
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