• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Learn how to prevent & reverse tooth decay, gum disease, and more.
  • Shop

    Natural Products

    • Most Popular
    • All Products
    • Subscriptions

    Shop By Concern

    • Tooth Decay
    • Gum Disease
    • Bleeding Gums
    • Natural Teeth Whitening
    • Bad Breath
  • Learn

    Get Help With...

    • Tooth Decay
    • Gum Disease
    • Bad Breath
    • Tooth Abscess
    • Canker Sores
    • Receding Gums
    • Periodontal Disease

    Free Resources

    • Blog
    • Video Tutorials
    • eBooks
    • Free Downloads
    • Expert Interviews
    • Meridian Tooth Chart
OraWellness.com
  • Blog
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Testimonials
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Account
    • Customer Login
    • Wholesale Login
  • 0
OraWellness.com 0
  • Blog
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Testimonials
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Account
    • Customer Login
    • Wholesale Login
  • Shop
    • Most Popular
    • All Products
    • Shop by Concern
      • Tooth Decay
      • Gum Disease
      • Bleeding Gums
      • Natural Teeth Whitening
      • Bad Breath
  • Learn
    • Get Help With...
      • Tooth Decay
      • Gum Disease
      • Bad Breath
      • Tooth Abscess
      • Canker Sores
      • Receding Gums
      • Periodontal Disease
    • Free Resources
      • Blog
      • Video Tutorials
      • eBooks
      • Free Downloads
      • Expert Interviews
      • Meridian Tooth Chart

Is Stress the Primary Cause of Gum Disease?

stressed woman with text

 

This week we’d like to step back and take a broad view to find what may be the primary undermining factor that keeps each of us from living our fullest life possible with an optimized immune expression.

After all, without an immune system humming along in good rhythm, chronic infections like gum disease can continue to grow and undermine the health of our entire body.

We often talk about how we approach gum disease from a ‘two prong’ approach…

addressing the issue ‘locally’ via ‘in the mouth’ strategies and
addressing the issue ‘broadly’ via ‘system wide immune support’ strategies

While in the mouth strategies like oil pulling, conscious flossing and what order you brush, floss and swish are important, today let’s turn our attention toward an often overlooked foundation…

A strong, resilient, vital, and balanced immune response.

After all, without a strong ‘whole body’ strategy in place, any strategies we apply in the mouth will only provide temporary benefit. If we really want to reach that ‘place’ where we are no longer ’suitable hosts’ for the opportunistic thug bugs implicated with gum disease, we must address oral health from a system wide approach too. (1)

Interestingly, since our approach is very strongly rooted in holistic principles (aka that the body/being is one system and we cannot treat the parts individually) even many of the ‘in the mouth’ strategies we suggest also benefit our immune response.

 

The Primary Pillar to Optimal Health

While much of the health internet (including us) tend to point out that nutrition plays a foundational role in living an optimally vital life, we find that a healthy psychology is even more central to expressing optimal health.

You’ve probably experienced some stress around trying to eat well.

Questions like wondering if the foods you choose for you and your family are best for you all can provoke stressful thoughts. If we habitually stress out that our diet isn’t perfect, we’re still causing stress (inflammation) in the system which will undermine our ability to be optimally healthy.

And, as we all know, stressing about food is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things we can stress about, right?

Bottom line, we must manage our stress levels and cultivate a healthy psychology as a daily habit or we are going to fall short of our potential genetic expression of health and vitality.

Not surprisingly, the scientific literature is awash in studies proving that stress makes gum disease and periodontal disease worse.(2,3)

Yes, it’s true that stress helps us grow. That’s the way the principle of ‘Use it or Lose it’ works. We have to stress a muscle to make it stronger, challenge our memory to keep it sharp and regularly stretch if we want to maintain flexibility.

The stress we’re referring to here however is the chronic stress (that is very manageable by the way) that’s born from how we respond to life.

 

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters…

The Greek philosopher Epictetus stated, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

When I first came across this truth, it hit me like a train.

It’s not what happens to each of us. It’s how we react to what happens to us that determines whether we freak out and cause damage to our health or are able to let the changing winds of life pass by without taking up arms about what just happened.

I’m sure you’ve had the experience of being in such a great mood that when something that would have normally gotten under your skin happened, because of your great mood, you were able to laugh it off. That’s the power of a healthy relationship with stress. That’s the central importance of our ability to manage stress in a healthy way in order to optimally express our genetic capacity of health and vitality.

But what about all the other times when we’re not already in the ‘good graces’ of an awesome mood?

 

What can we do to manage our reaction to life?

It turns out that there’s actually quite a lot we can do.

Count your blessings.

We all know how good we feel when we ‘wake up’ and remember that we don’t have to stress out. Stopping to count the blessings in our lives is a very powerful way to shift from a place of stress to a peaceful place.

Making a habit of counting our blessings not only supports our oral health but is such a gift to anyone who witness that intentional cultivation of a life well lived. Not only do we give to ourselves with the habit of counting our blessings, but our habit ripples out waves of peace, calm, and good feelings into the lives of others around us.

When angry, take 3 breaths.

The physiological benefits of deep breathing span every single system in our bodies.

However, it doesn’t count to quickly snort 3 breaths so you can ‘get them over with’ and maintain the stressed out state! Really, pause, turn your attention within and take three conscious breaths.

If you want to supercharge your stress shifting attitude, try silently repeating to yourself ‘This too shall pass’ while taking those breaths.

Mentally step back from the stressful situation.

A good friend and mentor of ours taught us many years ago to mentally step back from the current whatever we’re choosing to be all stressed about and see how in the grand scheme, it’s a rather insignificant situation we’re choosing to stress over.

Taking a mental step back helps to reframe the situation and provide the very beneficial ‘distance’ to be able to put the stress into its rightful ‘insignificant’ place.

Wrapping Up…

So, while most of our writing is on the details of how to navigate to greater oral health, let’s remember to keep in perspective the primary factors that either contribute to or undermine our ability to optimize our immune response.

How about you? What do you do to manage your stress levels? What would you like to do more regularly to better support yourself? How have you found that managing your stress more effectively has helped you live a healthier, happier life?

And, if you have active periodontal disease and you’d like to learn about a kit that can help you address periodontal-disease-causing microbes from the comfort of your own home, you can read about our HealThy Mouth System here.

We hope this helps you along your path to optimal oral (and whole being) health!

 

Helpful, Related Resources:

What is oil pulling? [article]
How to create greater oral health for the whole family [article]
What’s the best order to brush, swish and floss? [article]
4 Reasons why brushing is SO important [article]
HealThy Mouth System [product solution]

Sources:

1. Emotional stress on immunity, gingivitis and periodontitis
2. Stress and periodontal disease: The link and logic

3. The influence of academic stress on gingival inflammation

Categories

Gum Disease, Mouth/Body Connection

Tags

01

Will And Susan

Will and Susan are the founders of OraWellness and are passionate about health, wellness and positive living.

"We are experienced dental health crusaders and holistic oral health product innovators who know first hand the power of nature to heal in miraculous ways."

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. MILADYS RODRIGUEZ says

    February 1, 2022

    ME DIAGNOTICARON PERIODENTITIS Y QUE DEBO EXTRAER TODOS MIS DIENTES, ME ATERRA LA IDEA, ME RECOMENDARON SUS PRODUCTOS , ME GUSTARIA ADQUIRIR TODO LO NECESARIO PARA QUE MIS ENCIAS SE VUELVAN FUERTES Y NO PERDER MI DIENTES ..

    Reply
    • Chad at OraWellnesss says

      February 3, 2022

      Aloha Miladys,

      Thank you for reaching out to us.

      We’re so sorry to hear about your dental difficulties!

      We here at OraWellness aren’t medical or dental professionals, so we can’t treat, diagnose, advise, etc. Instead, what we can do is share information with you to help you become self-empowered on your journey.

      It’s our understanding that for gum disease, the vicious cycle goes like this: the gum-disease-causing bacteria in our mouths slip below the gum line and start building colonies. While building their numbers, they also attach tartar to our teeth to protect themselves from us. The tartar irritates our gums, so our gums start to pull away from the tartar-coated teeth. This creates a gum pocket. The bacteria move down to the now-deeper base of the gum pocket, where they lay down more tartar, which irritates the gums and causes them to pull away more, etc.

      Our HealThy Mouth System contains all the tools necessary to get down to the base of the gum pockets and kill off the bad bacteria that are wreaking havoc down there. Reducing and eliminating infections in gum pockets can lead to the reduction of gum pocket depths.

      Brushing, although beneficial, is only able to reach 2mm down into the gum pockets. Flossing and oral irrigators reach down to 4mm. The key is to kill the bacteria at the base of the gum pockets. The Pocket Applicator in the HealThy Mouth System makes it easy to reach the base of gum pockets as deep as 12mm.

      Here’s a link to Susan’s story, here’s an article on the positive changes one of our customers was able to achieve in just 42 days, and here’s a link to our Customer Testimonials pertaining to the HealThy Mouth System. These may help you to gain an understanding of how our system has worked for others.

      Also, as you may already know, we’re big fans of taking a two-pronged approach to oral health by providing support both in the mouth and in the rest of the body, since our systems are all intertwined and can influence each other.

      So, we would encourage you to sign up to receive our free video tutorial course, the 5 Steps to a Healthy Mouth. This series covers A LOT of ground regarding the importance of nutrition and how it relates to oral health.

      I hope that helps!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

HealThy Mouth Blend

Finally, a toothpaste alternative specifically focused to help you stop gum disease made from 100% certified organic ingredients. Upgrade your oral hygiene today…

Learn More

I have successfully used the HealThy Mouth System with OraWellness support to address periodontal problems that my dentist recommended seeing a periodontist.

I have not had to see the periodontist since my dentist originally recommended that option.

Glenn S from Victoria, Australia

I have three bridges in my mouth due to poor oral health as a child. Now at 64 my dentist noticed that the teeth holding the bridges were starting to move.   I was sent to a periodontist to have my teeth planed, at the cost of $9000.00.  I found OraWellness then and have been using their products for a year now.

Since using the HealThy Mouth Blend my teeth need minimal cleaning at the dentist.  You have saved me from losing my teeth.  Thank you!

Beverly C from Washington

I started using OraWellness products a year ago. I have had serious periodontal disease for many years, complete with loose teeth, and I was told by my dentist that I needed three teeth pulled immediately, and that I would likely lose the rest of my teeth eventually.

After watching my boyfriend suffer with dentures (and eventually discarding them) I decided I didn’t want to go that route, and I searched on the internet for a solution, eventually finding OraWellness. After diving wholeheartedly into their protocol, I can say that I no longer have any pain, and my loose teeth have actually tightened back up in my gums!

I have not lost any of these diseased teeth. Thanks OraWellness!

Deanna E from California

At 70 years of age, Orawellness has given me a new lease on life, literally!

When I first discovered your company, I suffered from bleeding gums, periodontal disease, four deep pockets, my gums were receding, teeth were loose, and I clenched my jaw during sleep, injuring my cheeks as well as my teeth.

I purchased the HealThy Mouth System to get started. As I used the product, I immediately noticed that the bleeding gums was getting better. Soon, the bleeding stopped completely. I used your OraWellness pocket applicator to treat the stubborn deep pockets I had between my back molars. I had already tried many things to treat them, but with very limited success.  My teeth now feel very firm in my mouth, not loose like before. In fact when I floss now it is hard to get in between the teeth, they are so tight! Fabulous.

Then I noticed, my gums were regrowing, they were no longer receded.

And another thing, something that was totally surprising and unexpected. The pain from my rheumatoid arthritis was better. It became noticeably better right after brushing. If I missed a brushing, I noticed that the pain and discomfort was worse, so who knew! But a wonderful result none the same. And I should add that it continues to improve. What a wonderful blessing for an older person.

Oh, and I forgot to mention it, but it is no less important, I no longer clench and grind my teeth when sleeping!

Thank you so much for your wonderful products, research and teaching tools. I will be eternally grateful.

Laura HB from Arizona

Categories

  • Bad Breath
  • Braces
  • Brushing
  • Canker Sores
  • Children's Oral Care
  • Diet/Nutrition
  • Flossing
  • Gum Disease
  • Microbiome
  • Mouth/Body Connection
  • Oral Hygiene
  • Quick Links
  • Remineralization
  • Root Canals
  • Tooth Decay
  • Toxin Free Oral Care
  • Uncategorized
  • Whiter Teeth Naturally
  • Wisdom Teeth

Footer

About

  • Our Story
  • FAQ
  • Returns / Refunds
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy

Shop

  • All Products
  • Store Locator
  • Customer Login
  • Wholesale Login

Connect

Email Us
(808) 892-3274

  • Wholesale Program
  • Affiliate Program
  • Join Our Team
© 2023 OraWellness. All rights reserved.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.