Dental Health and COVID-19

Teeth Grinding Riverhead, NY dentistAt this time, Bella Smiles is available to patients who require emergency dental care, including treatment for a tooth abscess, knocked out permanent tooth, or broken dental restoration. Our staff is monitoring the situation and will open up for routine dental treatments in three weeks. Because this can be a stressful situation, we want to remind our patients of oral health issues that can often arise as a result of stress.

Oral Health Problems Tied to Stress

There are multiple oral health issues that can come up when patients are under stress:

Mouth Sores: Canker or cold sores are often caused by emotional stress. They can also cause pain and feel uncomfortable for patients.

TMJ: Temporomandibular joint disorders can be caused by stress. Clenching and grinding teeth in stressful situations and at night can cause headaches, tooth damage, jaw pain, and other symptoms.

Poor Oral Hygiene and Diet: Patients who are stressed may not be giving themselves the time to brush teeth or floss regularly. In addition, a poor diet resulting from stress can cause a lack of vitamins and nutrients. These vitamins and nutrients not only benefit your physical health but your oral health as well.

Gum Disease: Being under stress can affect your immune system and can cause damage to your gums. Periodontitis, or gum disease, is an oral health problem that can cause gum recession and even tooth loss.

Dry mouth: A lack of saliva in your mouth can cause dry mouth. Saliva has many oral health benefits as it washes away food particles from your teeth and gums.

Contact Our Office

Call Bella Smiles at one of our locations in Riverhead, Roslyn, and Nesconset, NY. Our dental team is committed to ensuring that patient’s smiles are healthy and they are happy with their care. We are experienced in handling routine to complex dental cases of all types and even explain each step of the process to patients.