Knowing The Effect Of Blood Sugar Levels During A Dental Appointment
It is pretty common to get ready for a dentist appointment by brushing your teeth one last time and making sure your breath smells good for your dentist. After all, you are going to have people working in your mouth soon, and it seems like the polite thing to do. You may even be wondering if you should avoid eating right before your appointment because it will leave an odor in your mouth or food on your teeth. Stress and the food you eat can affect how you feel during the appointment. Being aware of blood sugar during your dentist appointment is important, and how you feel and what you eat can have an impact on where those blood levels are during a dental procedure.
Blood Sugar Increases From Added Physical and Mental Stress
Stress can cause your body's blood sugar levels to increase, which can easily happen by having dental work done. You experience physical stress by actually having a dental procedure performed on you, and mental stress that goes with hearing the sound of drilling and seeing the tools used by the dentist. If your body's blood sugar is high going into your dental appointment, it can cause problems with how wounds heal. If you are a diabetic, having high blood sugar will potentially cause aggravation with your diabetes as well.
Blood Sugar Increases From Eating Food
Eating foods that are highly glycemic can also increase your body's blood sugar. If you are the type of person that gets stressed by going to the dentist, skip that meal with highly glycemic foods prior to the appointment that can spike your body's blood sugar levels. Diabetics should also compensate for the effect stress can have on blood sugar as well.
On the other end of the spectrum, people with hypoglycemia can feel faint and light-headed if their blood sugar dips too low. It would be best to not think about your breath being bad or food on your teeth, but to eat something that would raise your body's blood sugar prior to the appointment to help you get through it.
Foods To Consider Eating
If you do not have hypoglycemia or diabetes, stick to eating foods that will fill you up but not spike your body's blood sugar levels. Foods like nuts, yogurt, eggs, and bread made with whole-grain. Your dentist may also have some suggestions for the foods to eat prior to your dentist appointment.