When it comes to finances, we put our money where our mouth is—literally. The way we deal with financial stress seriously impacts our dental health, says Robert Genco, distinguished professor in the departments of microbiology and oral biology at the State University of New York-Buffalo.
In his study, published in the Journal of Periodontology, subjects who used emotion-focused coping skills to handle money matters—meaning they denied or avoided problems—were much more likely to develop periodontal disease than subjects who employed problem-focused coping—or recognizing conflicts and dealing with them actively.
Previous studies have shown that all types of stress seem to weaken the immune system. Financial strain, however, was the only stressor Genco found to significantly affect dental health. It "may be more chronic and common in the population" than problems such as marital distress and job anxiety, he says.
