Oral Health’s Effect On Mental Health

Oral and mental health are interrelated to each other. According to a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, about sixty percent of people suffering from depression have reported toothache. Moreover, a scientific review showed a sturdy link between gum diseases and mood conditions like stress, distress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

The Interrelationship of Oral Health With Mental Health

People suffering from oral illnesses could develop mental health issues that can lead to other physical problems. This complex interrelationship could result in one or more of the following:

Poor Nutrition

People with mental issues have a low appetite that leads to consumption of less nutrition to their body. Nutrition like calcium is essential for the teeth. Not having proper nutrition weakens the enamel surface of the teeth, thereby causing many dental issues.

Anxiety

Poor dental health lowers one’s self-esteem and leads to anxiety. All of these can also cause dental anxiety. People suffering from anxiety usually avoid visiting their dentists, which might be a sign of dental anxiety.

Pain

People with depression or anxiety are more susceptible to pain. Due to this, they are scared or anxious about going to the dentist, possibly exhibiting dental anxiety.

Bad Habits

Adapting bad habits like drinking alcohol or smoking and consuming sugary foods could affect your oral health drastically. These gum diseases make people more anxious and depressed on one hand, and could cause oral cancer on the other.

How To Maintain Mental Health

People can maintain and even improve their mental health and, by extension, their oral health by taking active steps that include:

Exercise

Exercising regularly not only keeps your body fit but also helps in improving your mental health. Feeling good about your body and overall dental health boosts your self-esteem, encourages you, and improves your mood.

Train Your Mind

It is necessary to calm down and notice everything in your surrounding throughout the day. By training your mind, you feel calm and give yourself a sense of well-being. A calm mind encourages oneself to fight every disease including your dental illness.

Since mental health and oral health are interrelated with each other, you need to take care of both simultaneously. Nobody wants to suffer through these issues and feel less confident about themselves. Thus, taking preventive care of your teeth by brushing and flossing twice a day, regularly visiting the dentist, etc. can help keep you orally healthy and, by extension, physically and mentally healthy.

All Care Dentistry offers expert dental care treatment with Dr. David Powell, Dentist in Salt Lake City, UT, and his team of dental assistants. For more details and scheduling appointments call us at (801) 266-1414 or book online. You can also visit us at 6065 S Fashion Blvd # 275, Murray, Salt Lake City, UT 84107.