Stress has an effect on the immune system , in dentistry and the functioning of the salivary glands, which easy causing bad breath.
1. What is stress?
Stress is the body’s response to aggression or stress (anxiety, somatization …). This answer is not necessarily pathological.
Stress is essential for life. Most people face regularly to daily pressures.
In small doses, it did not affect health. It may even be positive and be stimulating and motivating.
Excess stress can be dangerous. It can affect us physically and psychologically.
Stress causes a chain reaction very well described by the endocrinologist Hans Selye in 1950.
There are two groups of stressors:
- Labor, environment, education, family conflict.
- Drugs, coffee, tobacco
Each individual will react to stress differently. In some cases, there will be a physiological adjustment, but sometimes there will be a pathological response whose importance can be very variable.
Where stress, it is immediately in the brain certain physiological responses.
Parasympathetic autonomic nervous system responds by causing diarrhea, colitis, acute gastritis, sometimes an ulcer or asthma.
There neuroendocrine reactions, with an increase in catecholamine levels.
These are the catecholamines that cause:
- Tachycardia
- The increase in blood pressure
- Hyperglycemia
- Increased secretion of cortisol
Stress also has an effect on the immune system: the lower the body’s defenses
2. Stress also has an effect in dentistry.
The oral symptoms associate with emotional factors in maxillofacial pain, for example. This has been very well described by the psychiatrist Ruth Moulton.
Indeed, the mouth occupies an important place in psychology. According to Freud, from childhood, it is a source of pleasure. First there is the pleasure of eating, then a means to defend themselves by biting. The mouth becomes a means of communication, sexual pleasure, again according to Freud.
It is therefore conceivable that the mouth is “the overflow of stress” Christian Fournier, Christiane Mascré: University of Montreal).
Stress has a role in the development:
- Bruxism, pain in the TMJ
- The glossodynia
- The muscular hyperactivity
3. Stress has an impact on the functioning of the salivary glands.
It induces alterations in salivary secretion. One can observe an oral dryness (decreased salivary secretion), or even a Asialive (total lack of saliva). Saliva may become thick and sticky.
The bacteria are more concentrated and better adhere to tooth surfaces. The oral cavity is more oxygenated, and the bacteria responsible for bad breath then find a supportive environment for their development.
- Stress and periodontium
The periodontium is more vulnerable in some stressed subjects. There is a slowdown in the microcirculation by cortisol and catecholamines secreted during stress.
In this situation, a periodontal patient may be the cause of bad breath.
- Stress and immune system
Stimulation of the adrenal glands that increases the secretion of corticosteroids, reduces the immune response. One can see a cold sore during times of stress. The virus reactivates when the immune defenses are lowered. There may also have bouts of canker sores.
Herpes labialis, as outbreaks of canker sores are painful and sometimes we relax our oral hygiene. It was at this time that a bacterial imbalance can be established, with a proliferation of anaerobic bacteria responsible for bad breath.
Stress is sometimes treated with antidepressants. You should know that these treatments also dry out the mouth. They promote unfortunately bad breath.
To fight against bad breath is hydrated by drinking at least two gallons of water per day. If oligoptyalism important, it may be considered by your doctor to prescribe saliva substitutes.
It is advisable to consult regularly with his dentist for a dental check, even in the absence of caries.
You should know that bad breath installed does not disappear by itself. There will always remove the cause.