23/12/2020
I’ve noticed a trend in my patients. Those that are happy, content, and grateful for their life in general, have better health outcomes.
In patients that have severe disease, more often than not, there are life circumstances that appear to have played a role.
So, does your emotionally state affect your teeth?
Emotions have been found to affect the skeletal system.
A Finnish study found that bone density was 52% higher in postmenopausal women who reported feeling satisfied with their lives when compared with those who said they were unsatisfied. Participants were asked to measure their overall well-being in four areas: interest in life, happiness in life, ease of living and feelings of loneliness.
Researchers followed 1,147 Finnish women ages 60 to 70 for a period of 10 years. On average, bone density in all women weakened by 4% over the 10-year period. But they found that changes in life satisfaction had an effect on bone health. Participants whose well-being had deteriorated over the decade were found to have 85% weaker mineral bone density than those individuals whose spirits had improved.
A 2015 study published in the Journal of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions, found that men with recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) had lower bone mineral density than those who were not depressed.
The study analyzed 928 men between the ages of 24 and 98 using data from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study, a population-based research project in Australia.
Those men with recurrent MDD had 6.5% lower bone mineral density in the forearm and 2.5% lower density throughout the entire body when compared with men who were not depressed.
In 2017, a study, Clinical Psychology of Oral Health looked at emotional state and dental health.
The results of this study showed a significant relationship between the perception of the patient’s oral health and the mood states experienced.
Oral health dimensions were strictly linked not only to the well-known
constructs of anxiety and Depression but also with Aggression, Anger, and confusion.
While these studies don’t show how emotions increase your risk of dental disease, they do show an association between mental state and dental health.
Do you think emotions affect dental health?