Life is stressful. Period.
At least the one we currently live in. All of us have some degree of stress or the other. Maybe not yoga gurus and infants but the rest of us most definitely. Even children today - with their increasing work loads and burgeoning school bags are candidates for stress.
Don't think you are under any kind of stress? well...lets see.....Have you driven your car in rush hour traffic, late for work and an idiotic cyclist comes straight into the path of your vehicle seemingly on a suicide mission, leaving you braking dramatically and exploring your vocabulary of choicest abuses? Have you taken out a big loan for the new house and the EMIs are cruelly astronomical? Are you the parents of teenage children? Are you working on a project whose deadline is already upon you or maybe even past you?
If you answered yes to any of the above or have faced similar situations - you are under stress. Of some degree or the other.
In dentistry stress translates to a number of dental problems. Bruxism being the foremost among them. Our previous post on Bruxism - " Do you grind you teeth?" should be able to tell you all you need to know.
But that is one among many problems - mouth ulcers (recurrent and painful), changes in your cheek mucosa ( the lining of your cheek inside your mouth), joint pain, necrotizing gingivitis and various other conditions can also occur.
Minimizing a stressful life goes a long way in averting more than one problem. It surely will not be easy but letting go of some things instead of trying to do it all is one step in the right direction. Taking time to smell the flowers seems like such a cliche but it was a wise person indeed who first suggested it.
Take time to unwind, delegate work and forget about things which are not in your control.
Finally get regular health and dental check ups - why add the additional stress of finding out late that you had a problem which could have been easily corrected had you discovered it earlier?
