serving ballard since 1974

Stress, Bruxism, And Your Oral Health

There are more issues to watch out for when it comes to your oral health than you might realize. One concern is that stress will negatively impact your ability to preserve a healthy smile. This issue can affect you in several ways. Stressful points in time can affect your diet choices, cause physical changes, and even interfere with your routine in ways that disrupt your daily smile care efforts. You can also begin to experience difficulties with teeth grinding, a problem known as bruxism, which can hurt your enamel. In time, this issue can lead to chips and cracks that require restorative treatment! At our Seattle, WA dentist’s office, we can help you maintain a healthy smile, and we can intervene when problems like bruxism threaten you.

Stress Can Lead To Teeth Grinding And Other Smile Problems

If you are dealing with heightened stress for a prolonged period of time, it can negatively impact your oral health in multiple ways. If you stop making safer diet choices and give your oral hygiene routine less attention, your cavity risk can rise. You also need to worry because stress can cause you to react physically by grinding or clenching your jaw. When this occurs, you can do harm to your smile that can hurt your appearance. It can even cause damage to your enamel that requires restorative dental work! Fortunately, this is an issue that we can protect you against.

Properly Addressing Issues With Bruxism

Why is it difficult to protect your smile from harm when you have issues with bruxism? Unfortunately, people who have this problem often grind and clench their teeth while they are asleep. To keep you safe from dental damage that can occur during the night, we can recommend that you wear a custom oral appliance while you rest. Keeping it in place will keep your teeth apart, so you will not have to worry about further wear and tear. This can also help you reduce the stress on your jaw joints and muscles to protect you against chronic discomfort.

Staying Consistent With Care To Preserve Your Oral Health

Preserving your oral health is important, as smile care influences your appearance and well-being in important ways. One thing to remember is that your regular dental visits help you stay on top of your smile care needs. Attending dental exams and cleanings regularly will lower your risk for cavities and gum disease, and it can result in timely intervention if you have issues with teeth grinding.

Your Seattle, WA Dentist Can Help You Preserve Your Healthy Smile!

By paying attention to the influence that stress and other issues can have on your smile care, you can avoid the kinds of issues that threaten your health and appearance. For more information on how we can take care of you, please call our Seattle, WA dentist’s office at 206-789-2555.

Cosmetic, Restorative, and General Dentistry

It is our goal to provide comprehensive dental care for your whole family. Our wide range of services means that you can see us for all of your needs — without having to visit multiple practices to achieve the smile you’ve always wanted.