In our daily lives, we all experience worry and anxiety. Work, family, and hectic schedules can create a great deal of pressure. Most people have heard about the impact this tension can have on your body, including insomnia, ulcers, and panic attacks. Did you know that stress also impacts your mouth? In fact, stress can contribute to a variety of issues like:

Bruxism
Also known as clenching and grinding, bruxism is often an unconscious action. Bruxism can lead to fractures, uneven tooth wear, and alignment issues.

Canker sores
Though these small sores are harmless, canker sores can cause a good deal of pain.

Dry mouth
If you don’t produce enough saliva, the condition is called dry mouth. Not only can stress contribute to dry mouth, but certain antidepressant can produce dry mouth as a side effect of the medication.

TMD
Your temporomandibular joints, or jaw joints, are the small, triangular joints that allow you to open and close your mouth. The TMJ are susceptible to stress, triggering painful symptoms such as neck pain, ringing in the ears, headaches, and dizziness.

Gum disease
Stress impacts our immune system by lowering our resistance to infection, which raises your chances of developing gum disease.

Finding ways to handle stress can help limit the negative affects on your mouth. Make sure to get plenty of rest and eat a balanced diet. Activities like exercise and relaxation techniques can also alleviate your anxiety. And most importantly, schedule regular check-ups with your dentist in order to minimize and help alleviate these oral issues.

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Most of the time, men don’t pay as much attention to their health needs as women, including their teeth and gums. For example, men only brush their teeth 1.9 times day, and the average male will lose over 5 teeth by age 72. Studies have linked oral health to living longer, so taking care of your smile can impact your whole life. Various factors influence a man’s long-term oral health. Looking at these issues and keeping them in check can preserve your smile’s integrity and your overall wellbeing.

Medications
Because men have more cardiovascular problems than women, they frequently take more medications, which can lead to dry mouth. As well, antidepressants and heart or blood pressure medicines can cut down on saliva flow, making men more susceptible to cavities. Make sure to let your dentist know about any medications you consistently take.

Routine dental visits
Typically, men only schedule a dental appointment when an issue occurs. Preventive exams actually keep your teeth and gums healthy, so put these visits on the calendar at least twice a year.

Tobacco use
Smoking or chewing tobacco increases your risk for gum disease as well as for oral cancer. In fact, men are twice as likely to develop oral cancer as women. Often, oral cancer isn’t detected until the disease has progressed, which decreases the chances of survival. Men who use tobacco need to make a point to see their dentists regularly for checkups and an oral cancer screening.

Sports Activities
When you participate in sports, you increase the chances of damaging your face, lips, teeth, and gums. Wearing a mouth guard, a flexible, plastic tray that protects teeth, helps prevent injury if you play contact sports like basketball, football, or even baseball.

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If you envy the stunning smiles of famous starlets and models, you can enhance your own appearance with teeth whitening. Your dentist can remove stains and reveal a brilliant, white smile with professional teeth whitening,. After teeth whitening, patients often restore their smile’s radiance, feel more confident, and look years younger. To decide if teeth whitening would work for you, review these questions and answers.

Who is a candidate for teeth whitening?
Though your dentist can determine whether you should consider teeth bleaching, anyone with surface stains from aging, lifestyle choices, or certain foods and beverages can erase discolorations with professional teeth whitening.

What options are available for whitening my teeth?
Many dentists offer both in-office and at-home teeth whitening. The in-office procedure produces immediate results and usually takes about an hour. Take-home whitening kits involve custom bleaching trays and generate sparkling smiles over a two to three week time frame.

Is teeth whitening safe?
If you choose professional teeth whitening, you can safely and effectively transform your appearance. Drugstore kits don’t contain the same level of bleaching agent and they aren’t monitored like professional products, so you may not achieve the desired outcome.

Will teeth whitening last?
With proper care that includes brushing, flossing, and routine checkups, you can enjoy a beautiful smile for years to come.

Do whitening toothpastes work?
For removal of mild surface stains, these products are somewhat effective, but they don’t actually contain bleach. Whitening toothpastes work on the principal of abrasion, so their rough ingredients rub off stains, providing only temporary brightness.

Schedule a visit at our North Hollywood or Thousand Oaks dental office.

People do many things to take care of their teeth and gums. Regular brushing, frequent flossing, and dental checkups help keep your smile at its best. Sometimes, we forget that the foods and beverages we consume also impact our dental health. The following choices can help by getting rid of plaque, strengthening enamel, and freshening breath.

Celery
Biting down on abrasive foods like celery stimulates gums and removes debris from your teeth. The extra chewing required to eat celery also keeps saliva flowing in your mouth, which neutralizes acids and washes away bacteria.

Cheese
Low in carbohydrates and high in calcium and phosphates, cheese has several benefits, including balancing the pH in your mouth, strengthening enamel, and encouraging saliva production.

Green tea
The catechins in green tea wipe out the bacteria in your mouth that convert sugar to plaque as well as eliminate the sources of bad breath.

Kiwi fruit
You need Vitamin C for your overall wellness and dental health. Most people don’t realize that a large kiwi contains over 100 percent of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin C.

Onions
The powerful antibacterial sulfur compounds in onions will kill many of the bacteria that wreak havoc in your mouth.

Parsley
To maintain sweet-smelling breath, chew on some sprigs of parsley after a meal.

Sesame seeds
By studying fossils, anthropologists have determined that our ancestors had strong teeth, possibly because they often consumed foods such as seeds, which remove plaque and build up tooth enamel. Sesame seeds are a good choice since they contain calcium, a mineral that preserves your teeth.

Visit our website to learn more about Thousand Oaks Dentist Dr. Kosdon at www.modernsmiles.com