If you’re one of the millions of Americans who are embarking on a fitness journey in 2025, congratulations! Staying active is an excellent way to reduce your risk of many illnesses and keep your body strong and healthy. But sometimes if you aren’t careful, working out can be harmful to your smile. Here’s how your exercise routine could be putting your teeth and gums at risk, and what you can do to prevent it!
How Exercise Benefits Your Smile
To be clear, exercise is great for your oral health. In fact, studies have shown that people who work out have a 33 percent lower chance of developing gum disease than those who don’t. Staying fit can also reduce your risk of developing serious illnesses like diabetes, which can be made worse by things like gum disease, so protecting your teeth and gums with exercise can help keep things like inflammation at bay, too.
Accidental Injury
As with any sport, there is always a risk of injury. Whether it’s being hit in the face with a hockey stick, taking an elbow to the mouth on the wrestling mat, or cracking your teeth while gritting them during a weightlifting session, it’s important to protect your smile if you’re doing anything that could hurt it.
Thankfully, your dentist has a solution. A custom sports mouthguard will fit comfortably in your mouth and protect your teeth from injury during play. Boil and bite versions that are available over the counter are very helpful, but for the serious athlete a professional quality guard is often much more comfortable, and therefore more likely to be worn regularly, especially by teens and children.
Sugary Sports Drinks
Sports drinks are a great way to rehydrate and boost your electrolytes, but they can be loaded with excess sugar and high in acidity. This can make your teeth vulnerable to cavities and decay. Thus, be sure to limit how many of these beverages you consume daily and be sure to brush well after drinking. Better yet, stick to good old H2O, which poses no risk to your oral health, and works just as good if not better than sports drinks.
Mouth Breathing and Your Saliva Quality
Mouth breathing is very common during exercise, but though it is perfectly healthy and normal, it can sometimes cause oral health problems. That’s because when your mouth is open, it can easily dry out, robbing it of important saliva that could otherwise wash away harmful bacteria and creating the perfect conditions for them to thrive. This in turn increases your risk of gum disease and cavities.
Furthermore, studies have found that exercise can change the pH of your saliva. In fact, the more you work out, the lower the amount of it you produce, and the higher its alkalinity. Unfortunately, more alkaline saliva can neutralize important proteins that prevent tooth decay.
If you can, try to focus on breathing through your nose during workouts, and keep plenty of water on hand to ensure that your mouth stays moisturized and free of bad bacteria.
Remember, adapting to a fitness routine is an excellent way to stay healthy and live an active life, but don’t forget about your oral health in the process! Stay mindful of these dangers to your teeth and gums so you’ll have a healthy smile to go along with that strong body you’ve worked so hard for!
About Dr. Shiyab
Dr. Tariq Shiyab’s keen interest in dentistry has led him to learn about many specialized areas of the oral health field. He has taught students in Washington State as a dentist and assistant professor, and has been a student himself, studying everything from cosmetic dentistry to dental implants, to root canal treatment, wisdom tooth extractions, and even restorative dentistry. He still takes several hours of continuing education each year, and he’s proud to use that vast knowledge to help patients right here in St. Johns every single day!
If you’re an athlete looking for ways to protect your smile during sports, schedule a consultation with Quality Dental Care for a sports mouthguard. If you are suffering from a sports-related dental emergency, please call us as soon as possible at 904-322-7341.