Obviously every body knows that exercise is good for almost all parts of your body. Recent study shows that exercise might not be so healthy for your oral health though. The study was published in The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. They found that if you are one of these people who like heavy training may have dental problems in unexpected ways.
Why Exercise might be bad for teeth?
It was known in the past to some that athletes could have a bigger risk for cavities and might have other oral issues. 278 athletes were examined at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and majority had poor oral health. Also, majority had high level of tooth decay, some of them had gum disease and erosions of the tooth enamel. All athletes came from well developed countries and had access to a high-quality dentistries but the problem was that many didn’t visit a dentist in the last year.
So to understand better what is actually going on in athlete’s mouths, researches examined athletes and non-athletes people. Then the researchers compared the group’s teeth and spit, the amount of saliva after trainings, which turned out to be very different in some ways.
When groups were compared, the athletes showed much greater erosion of their tooth enamel. Also, they were more likely to have cavities and the risk was increasing as athlete’s training time grew. So basically, if athlete spend lots of hours working out, then it most likely for her or him to get cavities.
The researchers didn’t find any correlation between consuming sports drink or any other food or drinks in the athletes’ diets and their oral health.
Everything changed when athletes worked out. While athletes were practising running, the amount of saliva they produced decreased even though water and other liquids were consumed during the work out. The saliva’s chemical composition also shifted, growing more alkaline as the workout continued. Excess alkalinity in saliva is thought to contribute to the development of tartar plaques on teeth and other problems.
So over all, based on the data from these groups, the prolonged endurance training might be a risk factor for oral health. Also less frequent or intense exercise would likewise affect oral health is uncertain but unlikely. If you have any conserms about your oral health, you can always visit our website or book a free consulation!
