Benefits of Meditation for the Mouth
There are literally millions of articles on the benefits of meditation, 28,500,000 to be exact. But of those, only 650,000 even mention how meditation can keep your mouth healthy. Oral hygiene is key for maintaining the overall health of your body. Because the mouth is the way through which food is introduced to the body, it makes sense that it is one of the most vulnerable areas to infection.
The mouth is connected to the nose, the throat, and the ears. So, for starters, an infection or other affliction within the mouth can spread easily to these other areas. From here, any bacteria or virus can spread to the lungs, eyes, and stomach. A moderately healthy body will fight these off before they get worse, but in an unhealthy body these may spread throughout the rest of the body causing a variety of symptoms.
Back in the late 1970’s to 1980’s research was first conducted to determine the link between the composition of saliva and stress levels. The study compared the saliva of a group under various conditions of stress to the saliva of that same group after meditating. The bacteria count in their mouths was lower after meditating.
There are three general determinants of tooth health: saliva production and a balanced saliva pH, a reduction of the bacteria found in the saliva, and an increased amount of salivary minerals. These determinants all showed general improvement in the group after meditating. This means that stress will increase your risk of developing oral conditions which are caused by bacteria and stress reduction techniques, such as meditation, will help make your mouth healthier.
Meditation is a different type of relaxation than sitting on the couch watching TV, it is willful relaxation. Every cell in the body is allowed to relax and to regroup. Even 10-15 minutes a few times per week can make a huge difference in the way your body feels. If you work with the chakras during meditation, it can further restore the health of your mouth by restoring the chakra which governs it.
Meditation has been used as a treatment for certain eating and digestive disorders. Acid reflux is not only uncomfortable, it can do serious damage to the esophagus. At night, when a person with an acid reflux like disorder sleeps on their back, the acid can make its way to the throat and mouth which will further damage teeth. With eating disorders, the gums and teeth are frequently weakened. Meditation, therefore, aids oral health in multiple ways. Using meditation, in conjunction with medication, can dramatically reduce the symptoms of acid reflux and improve the quality of sleep achieved.
When your mouth is healthy, the rest of your body can be healthy too. It is important to always remember that nothing in the body exists on its own. Every one of our body parts functions with other parts. People with previously great oral health are often surprised to find that a cavity has spontaneously occurred and it could be due to stress. Meditating for 45 minutes a week is enough to make a difference in how your mouth feels and functions.
Copyright Dr.Jean-Jacques Edderai – 2016