Exercise Good for Heart but Bad for Teeth?
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I exercise every day because I know it does a body good, or most of a body anyway. Then came this study by German dental researchers who set out to explore the impact of endurance training on oral health, and what they found might be bad news for the “hard-core.”
A group of 70 participants—half triathletes, half non-athletes, with an average age of 36—underwent an oral examination, had their saliva tested while sitting, and answered questions about their diet (including sports drink consumption) and exercise and oral habits. Fifteen of the athletes additionally had their saliva tested while running for about 35 minutes. The athletes were found to have a higher risk of dental erosion. And while both groups had the same cavity prevalence, the more training time an athlete logged, the more likely he suffered from cavities, Runner’s World reports. But sports drinks weren’t found to be the culprit.
What they found was a difference in spit, and a fairly surprising one at that, says lead researcher Dr. Cornelia Frese. At rest, the participants’ saliva, which helps protect our teeth, was the same in terms of volume and chemical makeup. But things began to change as the athletes started working out: Saliva production dropped. This means their mouths got drier, explains the New York Times, and it happened even if they were consuming liquids. Further, “saliva pH increased significantly,” per the study, which theTimes reports may encourage tartar plaque growth. But don’t hang up the sneakers. Frese notes that the study was a small one, and that the athletes it studied were pretty intense: Their mean weekly exercise time was 9 hours.
Thanks to Newser for story contributions.
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I exercise all day and every day. I blink on a regular basis. I have the strongest eye lids around. My teethe haven’t fallen out either so clearly all you have to do is blink regularly. Don’t need to pay gym fees either 😉
Me myself and I do not have any issues with cavities at all and I have been running more than half my life long distance. I wonder if it could be the fact that the ‘rents had sealants put on my teeth when I was about 8 and I’ve only had to have that process done on one of my back molars since. Maybe the fact I get the teeth cleaned 4 times a year instead of the regular two. Have to keep the pearly whites pearly white, no smoking, drinking of coffee to stain my teefz. I’m 33 now and have only ever had 3 cavities my whole time on this earth. This has been your PSA for dental sealants on teeth for the day. Yer welcome 🙂
Biotene, a mouth rinse for “dry mouth” makes advertising claims that echo these findings. This 2010 dentist website info page addresses the problem. http://www.pinedaledental.com/blog/article/dry_mouth_what_effects_does_it_have_on_your_teeth
Of course, many “athletes”, from genuine athletes to weekend wannabes, end up slack-jawed…huffing and puffing through their mouths (I’m guilty of this) while exercising. But, while a person in weight training may inhale heavily then “blow” on the exertion stroke, during the break, they close their mouths and/or take a sip, and they thereby restore some semblance of order in their mouths. During aerobic activity, however, one can spend extended periods panting through our mouths an get very parched in the process.
Sidebar to this…I wonder if “bad breath in dogs” has anything to do with body temperature regulation via panting. Just a thought.
That’s an interesting thought about dogs Jim.