Do you know that your mental health also depends a lot on your oral health? If you want to have good oral and dental health, you need to visit your dentist twice a year. However, you will actually be able to tune up your mental health with a simple check-up with an orthodontist.
In fact, it might surprise you that your mental health depends a lot on your oral health. On the other hand, oral health further depends on your dental health. Although this interconnection might seem odd, it is actually something to consider when you are worried about your oral health as well as your mental health. If you’re searching for a professional to help you, a La Jolla dentist can guide you toward better overall health.
Therefore, to get an idea of how your mental health depends on your oral health, read on.
Does Your Oral Health Really Affect Your Mental Health?
Your oral health affects your mental health. In fact, when you are suffering from an oral health issue, your quality of life actually decreases. As a result, it exacerbates your mental health problems.
For instance, if you have an oral health problem, you might feel embarrassed about your dental health. Also, you will notice that it triggers social anxiety in you. In such cases, you might withdraw from a social situation. Hence, this hurts your self-esteem significantly. As a result, it increases some mental health issues.
On the other hand, the opposite effect is also true. That is, your mental health also affects your oral health. For instance, when you are under stress, you ignore your oral hygiene. As a result, the health of your gums, teeth, and mouth gets affected.
What Does a Bad Oral Health Signify?
In fact, your oral health also reveals a lot about your overall physical and mental health. Apart from that, it shows your level of stress, anxiety, mood, and more. Also, it predicts the presence of chronic eating symptoms.
Hence, if you are suffering from oral health problems, you can visit your nearest orthodontist in Austin. This will make you feel better as you are taking care of your oral hygiene.
In fact, people with high mental health problems have a higher likelihood of losing their teeth than the general population. Basically, this gap exists due to certain health conditions. Also, this shows the difficulty of those people in accessing oral health care.
The presence of both oral health and mental health problems affects your physical health, too. For instance, due to mental health issues, many people engage in various unhealthy indulgences. These include drinking, smoking, eating more processed foods, etc. Basically, all these food items have a negative health impact on everyone.
What Does Your Oral Health Tell About Your Mental Health?
Your oral health tells many things about your mental health. For instance, if you feel depressed or if you have some anxiety, you fail to take care of yourself. In fact, you even forget to perform small and regular tasks.
In some cases, you might not even feel the motivation or the urge to maintain oral hygiene. Moreover, you will also have an increased perception of dental pain, as you will always try to avoid dentists and orthodontists.
Apart from that, your teeth, your mouth, and their condition also say a lot about certain mental health issues. For example, if you suffer from anxiety a lot, you might sometimes grind your teeth at night. Also, sometimes you will experience pain in the jaw.
In addition to that, if your enamel is worn out, it is also a big red flag for your oral health. Also, it shows that you are experiencing major stress or anxiety for a significant amount of time.
Moreover, a worn-out enamel can also show the presence of obsessive-compulsive disorder or bipolar disorder. For instance, you might brush your teeth more than you are supposed to (several times a day). In fact, brushing your teeth becomes a ritual for you rather than just plain and simple cleaning.
Eating disorders also create worn enamel. Basically, if you have an eating disorder, you might have a high level of tooth decay. Also, you might face difficulties with your gums. In general, this happens due to malnutrition. Moreover, it can also happen if you eat a lot of processed foods and sugary items.
How Can You Manage Your Oral Health and Mental Health?
The following are the steps you need to follow if you want to manage your oral health as well as your mental health:
1. Start Having a Healthy Diet
It comes as a no-brainer, but most people still struggle to do it. If you have a healthy diet, you will not only have good oral health but also good mental health. Basically, you can start by having more nutritious food, fruits, and vegetables. For instance, to have better teeth, eat a more calcium and vitamin-rich diet.
Apart from that, you must also know that whatever you eat, it impacts your mood a lot. Hence, eat good food to boost your mood. Also, make sure to exercise regularly.
2. Be Aware of Your Oral Symptoms
When your oral hygiene needs care, you will know it instantly. For instance, some of the ways to know whether you need to work more on your oral hygiene are:
- Bleeding gums
- Jaw aching
- Bad Smell or breath and dry mouth
- Teeth sensitivity while eating warm or cold food
- Grinding of teeth
- Tooth Decay
However, in some cases, antidepressants reduce saliva in your mouth. This can cause your mouth to dry up. Hence, in those cases, consult with your orthodontist.
3. Visit an Orthodontist Twice a Year
The job of orthodontists is to ensure your oral and dental care. They do not just make your teeth look good. Also, they help in detecting certain problems with your oral health. Hence, whether you have an oral health issue or not, make sure to do check-ups with your orthodontist at least twice a year.
Start Working on Your Oral Health Now
You can see from the article that your oral health impacts your mental health, and your mental health also impacts your oral and dental health. Therefore, it is crucial to work on both aspects with a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits. Also, ensure you are visiting an orthodontist near you at least twice a year.
MindOwl Founder – My own struggles in life have led me to this path of understanding the human condition. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy before completing a master’s degree in psychology at Regent’s University London. I then completed a postgraduate diploma in philosophical counselling before being trained in ACT (Acceptance and commitment therapy).
I’ve spent the last eight years studying the encounter of meditative practices with modern psychology.