Exercise is Great for Your Body, But What About For Teeth?

Exercise does the body good, right? It turns out the answer isn’t the simple “yes.” A new study, published by the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, found that too much exercising may have a negative impact on oral health.

Why is Prolonged Exercise Hard on Teeth?

It was previously believed that athletes had a higher risk of dental issues due to the sports drinks and energy bars (high in sugar) that they consumed to keep their energy up. However, new findings suggest that it is actually the change in saliva that may be to blame.

In terms of oral healthy, saliva plays a very important role. During the study, those who were triathletes had a correlation between the prevalence of cavities and the amount of time they spent training each week.

What Does This Mean?

In essence, the more time the person spent training each week, the more cavities they had. The study also concluded that athletes have decreased saliva flow rates and increased saliva pH after their run.

Don’t write off going to the gym just yet, though. These researchers studied endurance trainers (triathletes), whose exercise levels are much higher than the average person. The recommended exercise is still 150 minutes of moderate (or 75 minutes of vigorous) aerobic activity each week, in combination with strength training twice a week.

If you are an endurance athlete, make sure to talk to your dentist about how to best care for your teeth while training. You can set up an appointment by calling our office at 952-443-3368.