Visiting The Dentist Isn’t Just About Oral Health – It’s About Your Mental Health Too

When we think about the dentist, we think about leaning back in a leather chair, opening your mouth as wide as it can go, and letting a medical professional poke around with tools you’d usually never let anywhere near your mouth! 

And when we tell ourselves we’re willing to go through a dental appointment, it’s usually because we want to know that our teeth, gums, tongue, and lips are in healthy condition! 

But your oral health isn’t the only thing that gets a boost when you visit the dentist. Your mental health does too. And if you’re not quite sure what we mean, here’s how your oral health and mental health are often both being supported when you head to a dental checkup.

Mental Health Concerns Can Lead to Dental Issues

When you’re stressed out, you might forget to brush your teeth. When you live with anxiety, you’re more likely to grind your teeth in your sleep. And if you experience depression, you might not have the energy or motivation to care for your oral health. 

In visiting the dentist, you can learn how to be proactive about oral health in a way that’s more anxiety, stress, or depression ‘friendly’. All it requires is actually attending the checkup, and being honest about the oral health and/or hygiene struggles you’re going through. 

Worried About Your Smile? The Dentist Can Fix That

Well, not ‘fix’ it per se, as there’s nothing really wrong with your smile! But that’s not just something we can tell you. What matters is the way you feel about it. And as it stands, you’re not 100% happy with the way your smile looks. 

Whether it’s down to the color of your teeth, their alignment (or the fact you have aligners on), missing teeth, or visible fillings, the truth is that you do try to cover your mouth whenever you feel a laugh or a smile coming on. 

And that can be a real knock to your confidence, especially if people have made comments on the way your smile looks before now. 

But this is something you can bring up with your dentist, when you make an appointment with them. You can tell them about the confidence issues you have in regards to any number of oral health elements that you’re not quite happy with. 

And your dentist is likely to have a number of solutions they can recommend for you. 

From professional teeth whitening, to fitting you for veneers, to removing a discolored filling and replacing it with a tooth-colored version, there’s always something that can be done to help you feel like you can smile wide and proud again. 

Avoiding the Dentist Reinforces Anxiety

It’s annoying, but it’s true. When you cancel a dental appointment because you’re feeling anxious about seeing the dentist, you accidentally make it harder to try and see them again the next time you book an appointment. 

You’ve told your brain that this anxiety was right, and that there is genuinely something to fear about going to the dentist and getting a checkup done. 

So when the time comes to attend your rescheduled appointment, you’re going to have to go through the same internal fight all over again. And this time, it might even be harder. 

It’s a good idea to let your dentist know that you’re feeling anxious about attending your appointment. That way they can make it easier for you to get through the appointment, such as by taking a bit more time with you, or by also providing a chaperone, if you need one. 

And another thing you might want to try here is planning something fun to do after the appointment is over!

Think of it as a little treat in reward for doing something that caused you fear. It’s good to be able to congratulate yourself for being brave, and it’s not just kids who should get a sticker for sitting still in the dentist’s chair!

Oral Health and Mental Health: They Go Hand in Hand!

They really do! Because seeing the dentist is all about keeping your mouth in tip top shape, but it’s also about your confidence and comfort too. 

A dentist can help with smile-related issues that play on your mind, and they can also help you to form some better, more positive memories about seeing the dentist. 

It’s also easier to approach oral hygiene as someone with mental health worries if you’ve got the dentist on your side.