How Exercising Can Negatively Affect Your Oral Health

The new year is here, which means it’s time to break out the gym clothes and try to make a change for the better. Starting a new exercise routine is exciting, and it’s a great way to look and feel better.

That said, it’s important to keep your teeth in mind as you begin your fitness journey. If not, there are quite a few ways that exercise can negatively affect oral health. Here are a few of them, along with how you can prevent them from doing significant damage to your smile.

Chipping or Cracking Teeth

Lots of people prefer to get their exercise doing something more involved than running or lifting weights. If you’re biking, rock climbing, or playing contact sports, it’s important to keep in mind that you might wind up chipping or cracking a tooth if you aren’t careful.

You can always prepare for the worst by having your dentist craft you a sportsguard. It’s possible to buy do-it-yourself sportsguard kits, but without a professional’s help, you risk having a guard that doesn’t offer the proper coverage. Your dentist can make protective equipment perfectly designed to fit your mouth, so you can be confident that it’ll function properly when you need it.

Mouth Breathing

When you really start working, breathing through your nose probably won’t cut it. That said, mouth breathing can cause some serious issues when it comes to your oral health. Studies have shown that it can reduce the amount of saliva in the mouth, even more so if you exercise outside in the dry winter air.

Ordinarily, saliva breaks down food particles and carries them out of the mouth, meaning that they’ll spend less time feeding bacteria. When your mouth dries out, those bacteria will flourish, increasing your chances of gum disease and tooth decay.

If you want to counter the effects of mouth breathing, you should make sure to stay hydrated. That will prevent dry mouth and facilitate saliva production.

Sugary Sports Drinks

That said, staying hydrated isn’t enough—you also need to hydrate correctly. If you drink a ton of sugary sports drinks while working out, that sugar will coat your teeth and stay there while you exercise. When you’re working out, good old-fashioned water should be enough to keep you hydrated.

There’s no point in your body looking its best if your teeth aren’t up to snuff. Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be able to keep every part of you in top condition.

About Our Practice

At Stec & Stines Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, we go out of our way to show our patients how important they are to us. We do that not only by offering the best dental care possible, but also by ensuring that you’ll feel comfortable and heard every step of the way. If you want to see how good dentistry can be, we’d love to show you.

If you have any questions about exercising and oral health, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (308) 382-4440.