It has always been assumed that exercise is completely and totally healthy for the body, mind, and possibly even your spirit. However, that might not be entirely true.
German scientists noticed that a vast majority of athletes had bad teeth that seemed prone to cavities, dental erosion, and gum disease. They set out to see what could be the cause.
In a new study recently published in The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, researchers assessed the oral health and saliva of 35 triathletes and 35 non-athletes, then examined the results.
At first glance, the results were confusing.
While there wasn't a significant difference in cavity prevalence between athletes and non-athletes, those that were trained more hours were more likely to have cavities than those who trained fewer hours.
The researchers then took a look at the saliva at rest and the saliva at different points during an increasingly difficult cardio drill and compared the two. Apparently, exercise actually changed the the acidity of the saliva, as well as the amount of saliva produced. As the athletes trained, there was a significant decrease of saliva in the athletes' mouths as the cardio drill continued.
Both a decrease in saliva and the change in acidity can cause tooth decay.
"While experts know that saliva contains a host of enzymes and other substances that protect the teeth and gums, they don't know exactly why the pH increases during exercise," says lead study author Dr. Cornelia Frese, a senior dentist at University Hospital Heidelberg in Germany.
Does this mean your exercise routine is causing those pesky cavities, not your diet? Not necessarily. The athletes that they found this trend in regularly trained about nine hours a day, which lead many researchers to believe that it was because the athletes were exposing teeth to long exposures of change in saliva.
Dr. Frese, however, has another theory.
"Endurance athletes are more likely to consume sugary sports drinks while they work out, which could contribute to tooth decay independently of exercise," Dr. Frese says, although this particular study didn't find significant proof of this relationship.
What do you think of this interesting study? Let us know your reaction in the comments!
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