The negative effect of heavy loads on the teeth

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Heavy loads always negatively affect our body. No wonder they say that in order to be healthy, you need to go in for sports as a hobby, and not professionally. Professional sports, if you hope to be in the first echelon and not sit on the bench, is always a big risk of injury. Amateurs who set goals equal to professional ones risk, in addition to medals for participating in the same ultramarathon or a full Ironman, to earn health problems. Therefore, under heavy loads during preparation for such a competition, you must observe safety measures. Together with our internal organs, our teeth take the blow. As a result, many athletes can develop dental erosion.

Why do such problems arise?

Reason # 1. Too Much Sugar in Sports Food

Sips of sugary sports drinks have a beneficial effect on our performance by increasing the amount of glycogen our muscles need, but this amount of sugar is hardly useful for teeth. Eating sugar increases the number of acid-producing bacteria, which in turn increases your chances of getting a whole series of dental problems. In addition, these same sports drinks, in addition to sugar, contain citric or phosphoric acids, which destroy tooth enamel. Enamel, the integrity of which is broken, becomes more susceptible to the accumulation of bacteria, which ultimately can lead to a number of problems: spots, gingivitis, holes, inflammation, periodontitis and others.

However, for all the annoyances listed above, the high sugar content of sports drinks is not a major concern.

Reason # 2. Heavy breathing through the mouth

During rapid breathing, the oral cavity becomes dry, and insufficient salivation creates an ideal environment for harmful bacteria to thrive.

In 2014, a study was conducted, published in The Scandinavian Journal of Sports Medicine, during which the condition of the teeth of two groups was observed: 35 athletes and 35 ordinary people (a control group). As a result of the experiment, the condition of the tooth enamel of the athletes was worse than that of people from the control group. Athletes experienced less salivation and increased pH during exercise. Saliva is protective, and the longer and more intense the workout, the drier the mouth becomes and the higher the pH level. The longer the workout, the more dental problems you can earn.

All of the above does not mean at all that you cannot prepare intensively for difficult competitions. You just need to know how you can avoid all these problems.

Ways to deal with the problem

• Daily brushing and flossing.
• Compulsory visits to the dentist 2-3 times a year.
• See your doctor right away if you notice dental problems or unpleasant symptoms.
• Try to reduce your intake of sports drinks and other high sugar foods. Be sure to rinse your mouth out after eating foods that contain sugar. Do not overuse special sports drinks and products, try to use them only when it is really necessary (if the workout lasts longer than an hour). During workouts of up to one hour, you can do without plain water.
• Learn to breathe through your nose. Breathing through your nose increases the production of nitric oxide, which in turn increases the uptake of oxygen by your lungs, killing bacteria, viruses and other germs.

Also, do not forget about a balanced diet, which will give your body all the necessary elements so that you can run long and fast.;)