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How are yoga and oral health inter-related?

For over ages, Yoga has been considered effective in improvising both physiological and psychological health of individuals. Yoga enables the body to withstand greater stress and strain. It calms the brain and looks after the psychological factors including anxiety. This contributes negatively to the pathogenesis of medical illness as well as adversely affects its course. Therefore, yoga becomes vital to bring down the level of anxiety as a part of prevention and management of diseases. 
Among the various approaches to reduce anxiety, yoga is at the forefront as it combines various elements of a healthy lifestyle with mental peace. 

Stress is a major contributing factor that impairs an individual’s well-being especially when it comes to oral health. We often see stress manifesting as negligence of oral hygiene causing [inflammation of gingival and periodontal tissues](https://smiles.ai/blogs/what-is-scaling-and-root-planing-and-why-do-hygienists-do-it). 

Yoga frees the strain from the jaws by producing a substance that helps to counteract inflammation, and keeps our gums healthy. Through yoga our mind and body stay in control causing less stress & eventually bringing down or eliminating teeth grinding or clenching during sleep which is known as Bruxism.

Yoga brings down stress and regularizes oral health

Yoga is known to reduce stress levels and bring down anxiety, but how does that impact our overall oral health. Let us understand how increased stress impacts our oral health

Psychological stress may affect the oral and periodontal tissues through two mechanisms. The first being through inflammation caused as a result of the release of the stress hormone-cortisol. Inflammation and release of these chemicals results in destruction of the connective tissue in the body. The second mechanism is related to behavioural changes which start reflecting in one’s lifestyle such as negligence of oral health leading to increased oral microbial load, greater frequency of smoking to cope up with stress and intake of sugary foods. Both these avenues are inter-linked affecting the [periodontal health](https://smiles.ai/services/scaling-root-planing) of the individual. Stress manifests in the oral cavity in the form of swollen gums, increased redness, bleeding of gums, bad breath, recession of gum tissue and even tooth mobility. Thus, Yoga could be used as a valuable mechanism to reduce stress in an individual and maintain their overall health

stress leads to periodental disease

People with severe stress experience increased headaches, neck ache and even muscle stiffness. Stress has also been linked to dental problem in the form of bruxism or teeth grinding, frequent clenching of the jaw and facial muscular pain. [Bruxism](https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/teeth-grinding-bruxism) is a subconscious phenomenon where individuals grind their teeth during sleep. Often, patients are not aware that they are indulging in Bruxism causing serious dental problems such as chipped teeth, headaches, radiating pain to the shoulders, joint pain (near the ear), teeth sensitivity as a result of enamel wear out and exposed dentin.

What is the positive impact of yoga on your oral health?

Chronic stress results in the release of cortisol hormone which is a potent anti-inflammatory hormone and continuous exposure of tissues to this result in inflammation of the periodontal tissues. Restorative yoga poses can actually help to calm down the endocrine system (hormone releasing system of the body) and reduce the release of cortisol eventually bringing down inflammation in the body.

Incorrect posture usually has a severe impact on the dentition. A hunched posture often creates severe stress on the neck and lower back. This may directly affect the alignment of the upper and lower jaws as well as the [alignment of teeth](https://smiles.ai/services/aligners). This along with psychological stress can often lead to bruxism. Practising yoga daily can help to improve the posture as well as reduce stress. Yoga poses and stretches can help to realign the position of the head as well as strengthen the core and back muscles. Yoga also relieves tension in facial muscles and soft tissues, allowing individuals to maintain correct posture.

Yoga improves posture

One of the most important benefits of yoga on oral health is stimulation of the salivary secretion. Saliva is critical to maintain good oral health and prevent tissues from drying, along with washing away food debris and preventing [tooth decay and inflammation](https://smiles.ai/services/root-canal). Certain types of yoga poses, like forward bends, stimulate the body to make more saliva that will keep your mouth healthy. There are even entire yoga sequences designed to help eliminate dry mouth.

Yoga teaches you proper breathing techniques:

The science of yoga is based on exercises with focused and regularized breathing techniques. Proper breathing techniques prevent the mouth and throat from drying preventing the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms. Yoga can also help curb cigarette cravings, improving oral health and the overall lifestyle of an individual.

As yoga results in increased salivary secretion, it also helps to ensure proper breakdown of food during mastication (chewing) making it easy to be swallowed

What are some helpful yoga asanas that we can practice for maintaining oral health?

This asana helps to relieve any stress or pain that is experienced near the joint. It can be practised by opening and closing the jaw alternatively while simultaneously massaging the temporomandibular joint.

This is a cooling asana which is useful for maintaining the health of gums and other oral soft tissues.

This asana is perfect to stimulate the salivary gland which ends up preventing xerostomia (dry mouth) and aids the body in reducing the bacterial load.

Active tongue movements along with trying to touch the tongue to the mid-palate helps to improve speech and pronunciation. This is often used as a physical therapy process for stammering.

As the annual International Yoga Day approaches on June 21, 2021, we often focus on yoga for its physical and mental positive effects on people. The limelight is always on how asanas, meditation and breathing techniques can improve physical health and help get rid of stress and anxiety but we tend to overlook the benefits it has on oral health.
Now one may wonder, how exactly does yoga play a role in dental health – Does Yoga regrow teeth? Is there a Yoga Mudra for teeth problems? Should I do yoga for teeth alignment or yoga for [teeth straightening](https://smiles.ai/services/dental-braces)?  Is there a particular yoga for teeth gap, yoga for receding gums or yoga for teeth cavity? That is not how it works, in fact yoga plays a role in other functions of your body that directly or indirectly impact your oral health. This would involve bringing down stress levels, regularizing your breathing, proper chewing of food through salivary regulation and so on. Let’s discuss the relationship between Yoga and our oral health on this International Yoga Day.

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How Yoga Benefits Oral Health?

How are yoga and oral health inter-related?

Stress and periodontal disease

Stress and Bruxism

What is the positive impact of yoga on your oral health?

Yoga helps to lower inflammation –

Yoga helps to improve posture:

Yoga stimulates salivary secretion:

Yoga teaches you proper breathing techniques:

Yoga aids in proper chewing of food:

What are some helpful yoga asanas that we can practice for maintaining oral health?

Sukshma Yoga:

Shetkari Pranayama:

Khechari Mudra:

Tongue Movement: