"Puffy Gums"

by Dr. Murray Rosenthal

I've always believed that my gums were affected by stress in certain ways. My gums often became inflamed under stress.

In dental school, George Green had difficult tests. I'd study, study, study, and take the test.

One time Dr. Powell wanted to see me after an exam in Dr. Green's course. And so we're talking and he looks at me and says, "Mr. Rosenthal, it's about time you learned how to take care of your gums. You are going to be a dentist. This inflammation needs to be corrected." I said, "Dr. Powell, I just had an exam. Give me another fifteen minutes and check my mouth at the end of this meeting. I think my gums will look much better." He said, "What?!" I said, "Yeah, this happens every time I have an exam. I get puffy gums."

When the meeting was over he said, "Oh, I forgot, let me take a look at your mouth." I showed him my gums and he said, "Oh, my God, look at that!" The swelling was gone. I said, "That's stress, Dr. Powell."

I was ahead of the game in terms of the impact of stress on the mouth. In fact, when I was in perio school that was my dissertation: The Impact of Affective Disorders on the Periodontium.