Yoga is great for good health and relaxation. Meditation is an integral part of Yoga and can foster your well–being and set you free from stress and anxiety. Our lives become busier each day and we often find ourselves surrounded by clutter that can be avoided but is also necessary for today’s fast-paced lifestyle.
Meditation helps you in achieving a clearer mental and emotional state and is more than just sitting in a single position for a certain time period. It helps to mute your thoughts cleaning the day-to-day clutter and generates a connection between the mind and body. One of the many benefits of meditation is that it helps improve and maintain dental health.
Here are 4 ways meditation can improve your dental as well as overall health.
1. Improves Saliva Production in the Mouth
Meditation does not only alleviate stress levels but also helps in improving the saliva production in your mouth as well as reduce the number of bacteria, thereby improving overall dental health. This prevents any development of oral conditions. It does not just help to lessen harmful bacteria but also combats bad breath.
Usually, your salivary composition undergoes fluctuations due to various factors like smell, taste and short-term acute mental stress. These complex structures of salivary responsiveness during mental stress are observed by a rise in total salivary protein and changing cortisol levels.
With the reduction in stress, problems of dry mouth will also take a back seat. It also reduces the buildup of plaque, gum disease, and tooth decay. It generates saliva production, preventing food particles to accumulate in the mouth.
2. Reduces Stress and Inflammation
Meditation reduces the risk of inflammation which in turn prevents any gum swelling that may result in a gum disease. Periodontal diseases happen due to a stress hormone and completely eliminating stress with the help of meditation is highly beneficial to dental health.
Meditation helps in improving the immune system, lessens gingival inflammation and prevents dental diseases. With practicing meditation, chronic stress will reduce the swelling and gum disease. Stress and inflammation in the gums invite more serious dental problems as well as overall health issues. Inflammation of gums can also lead to frequent bleeding, redness, and swelling of the gums.
A daily practice of 20-minute meditation can significantly prevent inflammation.
3. Helps in Overcoming Dental Anxiety
Most of us experience some sort of anxiety during medical procedures, especially during dental treatments. One of the benefits of meditation is that it can help ease off any anxiety you may feel before or during a dental procedure. Keep your eyes closed and focus your mind, reciting a mantra that would make you calm and relaxed so you feel positive.
This will prevent any distracting thoughts from entering your mind and your dental procedure will be over before you know it leading you to better dental health. When stress levels reduce, your teeth clenching reduces and your muscles relax. This results in fewer oral diseases and dental caries.
4. Prevents Bruxism (Teeth Grinding)
Stress is a significant reason for bruxism and you can eliminate it with the help of meditation. Practicing meditation regularly will not only prevent you from grinding your teeth but also aid in sleeping better.
Meditation also prevents TMJ to some level. Meditation will prevent problems like cracks, chips and worn out teeth over time, keeping you stress-free. The alleviation of stress prevents unnecessary emotional and physical responses that affect your heart rate, muscle tension and the surge of adrenaline flowing through your body.
Meditation will strengthen your ability to focus on a single subject or object, preventing the mind from wandering. It is most effective when done first thing in the morning. If you have severe issues of TMJ, contact your dentist for TMJ treatment before the condition worsens.
Besides improving your dental health, there are several other reasons why people practice meditation on a regular basis. These include a boost in your immunity, emotional stability, decreased or controlled anxiety, increase in male and female fertility, and ease of irritable bowel syndrome. It also helps in fighting addiction, lowering blood pressure, reducing inflammation and improving your attention span.
Moreover, meditation does not have a religion and people of all faiths can practice the same. With all the abundant benefits of meditation, there is no reason why you should not make it part of your regular routine. It just takes a few minutes every day!
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