How Your Job May Affect Your Dental Health

Do you know that your job affects your oral health? The nature and intensity of the effects depend on the exact nature of your job. For example, your job can decimate your oral health if:

It Encourages Snacking

Some jobs encourage snacking than others. For example, you are more likely to snack if you have a desk job, if you consider your job boring, if your job is tiresome or if you work a lot at night. For example, many people find themselves snacking (usually on sugary and caffeinated drinks) while working night shifts.

Snacking is bad for your oral health on two main levels. First, you won't always brush after snacking; the bits of food that remain in your mouth become food for bacteria that cause oral health problems. Secondly, eating sugary or carbohydrate snacks increases your risk of dental cavity because those things nourish oral bacteria.

It Encourages Dehydration

If your job involves working in hot and humid conditions, and you use a lot of energy, then it's a good bet to assume you are constantly dehydrated. Oil rig workers, construction workers, and roofing contractors are some of the people who frequently battle dehydration.

Dehydration is bad for your mouth's health because it depletes the level of saliva in your mouth. When your body doesn't produce as much saliva as it should, it will cause bad breath and dry mouth syndrome. Dry mouth syndrome can lead to further complications such as gum disease and cavities. These complications arise because you need saliva to wash away bacteria and bits of food from your teeth; without saliva, these things remain on your teeth and cause havoc.

It Is Extremely Stressful

Most people consider their jobs stressful, but experience shows that some jobs are more stressful than others. Some of the most stressful jobs include being in the military, piloting planes, and being a firefighter, among others. When it comes to stress, however, it is how you feel, and not what the statistics say, that matter.

Stress can cause mouth sores, bruxism (constant teeth grinding), constant teeth clenching, and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), among other things. All of these can wreak havoc on your teeth; for example, constantly grinding and clenching your teeth can crack and erode your enamel, making it easy for bacteria to attack your teeth.

Analyze the above examples to see if your job is damaging your oral health issues. If that's the case, take the necessary measures to mitigate the damage; a dentist, like Jacob L. Revercomb DMD, can advise you on the measures to take.

Share