06 Aug How Dental Health and Mental Health Are Connected (It’s Not Just Because They Rhyme)
Although they might not seem related, there’s actually quite a close connection between good dental health and good mental health.
As holistic dentists, we take your entire wellbeing into consideration. It’s our job to recognize connections like the link between diet and dental health, or the ways in which gum disease affects the rest of your body. We also consider mind-body connections like how your mental health affects your oral health.
Let’s take a closer look at how the two are related.
Exploring the Links Between Psychological and Dental Disorders
More and more psychiatrists and dentists are beginning to recognize how their practices are connected. In fact, several new studies have examined this link in detail. They show numerous connections in the way mental health and oral health are interrelated.
How Does Oral Health Affect Mental Health?
Poor dental health can cause embarrassment, lead to lower self-esteem, and make social interactions awkward. Dental problems like stained teeth, missing teeth, and severe decay can cause anxiety and make depression worse.
For example, living with constant jaw pain or tooth pain often makes people feel depressed. And people who feel self-conscious about the appearance of their teeth will have even more anxiety in social situations.
How Does Mental Health Affect Oral Health?
When your mental health suffers, your whole body suffers as well, including your mouth. Poor mental health can make people avoid going to the dentist, neglect brushing their teeth, and ignore nutritional meals in favor of foods that are bad for their teeth.
Other psychological conditions like OCD, dementia, bulimia, and agoraphobia can also have negative effects on dental health. For example, someone with dementia or OCD might have trouble keeping up with oral care routines. Someone with bulimia might suffer from sensitive teeth and tooth decay due to enamel erosion. And someone with agoraphobia or severe social anxiety might be afraid to leave their home to go to a dentist appointment.
What Dental Problems Are Related to Anxiety and Depression?
Anxiety doesn’t only keep people away from the dentist. It can also cause harmful side effects like dry mouth and teeth grinding. People with dry mouth will be more likely to get cavities and gingivitis, because they don’t produce enough saliva. Plus, anxiety often makes people unconsciously clench and grind their teeth, leading to problems like tooth fractures and worn enamel, as well as sensitivity and jaw pain.
Unfortunately, dry mouth can also be a side effect of many common medications that are prescribed to treat anxiety and depression.
Possible side effects of antidepressants include:
- Xerostomia (dry mouth)
- Stomatitis (oral inflammation)
- Gingivitis (first stage of gum disease)
- Bruxism (teeth grinding)
If you are taking any medications for anxiety or depression, they could be affecting your dental health. That’s why regular dental exams are so important—they give your dentist a chance to check your mouth for signs of gingivitis, dry mouth, and bruxism. They also give you a chance to discuss your medications and their possible side effects.
Holistic Dentistry in a Stress-Free Environment
If you suffer from dental anxiety or you’re depressed about the state of your dental health, please don’t put off your appointments. At Prescott Dentistry, we want everyone to feel safe and comfortable during their dental exams. To us, holistic dentistry means providing dental care that’s good for your physical health and your mental wellbeing, too. That’s why we offer a “comfort menu” and why we do all we can to establish a calming, healing environment.
We also want you to know that it’s safe for you to discuss your mental wellness with us. We treat all of our patients with kindness and compassion. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or taking medications for anxiety or depression, don’t be afraid to let us know. We want to help our patients prevent dental problems by managing their symptoms and building greater awareness of the mind-body connection.
If you are interested in trying a holistic, stress-free dentist experience, please make an appointment at our Prescott, Arizona, office today.
Photo by Edit Sztazics on Unsplash used with permission under the Creative Commons license for commercial use 7/29/2024.