As we begin to have more open discussions about mental health and researchers study conditions more closely, it is becoming clear that there are so many things that can affect your mental health. Issues often have their roots in childhood, but there are also a lot of physical problems that can have an impact as well. For example, there has been a lot of research into gut health and the role that it plays in mental health recently. But did you know that your oral health could have an impact as well? These are some of the ways that your oral health affects your mental health.
Self Esteem Issues
Self esteem issues are very common in people that suffer from mental health issues like anxiety or depression. They can be both a cause and a symptom of mental health issues and there are a lot of complex reasons for it. It’s very common for people to obsess over their weight and their self esteem may suffer because they are comparing themselves to unrealistic body standards portrayed in the media. But it isn’t always weight that people worry about, their self esteem issues can be caused by lots of different things.
Your smile is one of the first things that people notice about you, which means that if you have bad oral health, you may feel very self conscious about it. In some cases, you may have lasting damage, but if you visit a cosmetic dentist, they may be able to help you. If bad oral health causes you issues with self esteem, you should try to make some improvements.
Social Interaction
Social interaction is important if you want to maintain good mental health. Unfortunately, if you have poor oral health and you have self esteem issues around it, your ability to socialize may suffer. Smiling is an important part of socializing, especially when you meet a new person, and if you do not smile because of your poor oral health, you may give a bad first impression and come across as unwelcoming. If this makes it hard to form social connections, your mental health may suffer.
Bacterial Infection
If you do not have very good oral health, you will have a build up of bacteria in your mouth, and that can affect your overall health in a lot of different ways. You may develop sores in your mouth or bleeding gums, and severe infections can lead to a lot of pain. All of these things will have a big impact on your mood and can increase feelings of depression.
However, the most important thing to consider is the impact that oral bacteria has on your gut. There is a big link between oral health and gut health, and as we know, your gut health affects your mental health. That means that if you have poor oral health, you will have poor gut health and potentially poor mental health as well.
Oral health has a much bigger role to play in mental health than people realize, so it’s important that you stay on top of it.
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