Do you feel like you have a lot of stress? If you're like most people these days, you claim to be over stressed due to work, kids, bills, and more. We all know that stress affects our overall well being, but did you know that being even more specific, stress affects our oral health care as it leads to tooth loss and gum disease. Great, just one other thing to stress about right!

An article published in the Journal of Periodontology last summer, states there is a direct link between stress and periodontal disease, issues like bleeding, sensitive gums, and receding gums. In addition, other psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness also cause periodontal disease.

You may be asking, how does stress lead to bad oral health? Well, the stress hormones cortisol is the issue. It is released by the adrenal glands and is necessary for many functions such as glucose metabolism, insulin, blood pressure control, and for inflammatory response and proper immune function.

High levels of stress equate to increased levels of cortisol production. And increased levels of cortisol are linked to an increase deterioration of gum tissue and the bone that supports the teeth. This leads to a list of other oral health issue such as tooth decay, gum inflammation, and tooth loss.

Behavioral factors may also be a contributing factor. It's common for over stressed individuals or those suffering from depression to disregard normal day-to-day oral health care. They brush and floss their teeth infrequently. Additionally, high stress leads to increased alcohol and tobacco usage, both of which create an environment friendly for bad breath, germs and gum disease.

It's very important to find healthy activities the relieve stress. Regular exercise does wonders in lowering one's stress levels. Also, a well balanced diet adds even more balance.

Another study recently released in the journal of Microbiology shows that over 900 different types of odor producing oral bacteria were found in the throat and tonsil areas. This is a startling find, as most people think that by simply brushing your teeth, including your tongue, you get rid of bad breath.

Most traditional oral care products only cover the smell of bad breath. They don't actually get rid of it. There are very few products on the market that actually destroy the bad breath producing bacteria. These products, such as Therabreath, use a rich oxygen based formula for destroying the bacteria, as these bacteria don't survive in an oxygen rich environment. So next time, when looking for a mouth wash, read the label and sees if it contains and oxygen based formula.