02 Apr Sports and Your Child’s Dental Health

            Unless your child has come out of the hockey ring with a chipped tooth and busted lip, saying, “But Mom, did you see that play?” you might not be thinking much about the impact that your child’s sports could have on their dental health. But the serious effect sports can have on a child’s dental health should not be underestimated. Dry mouth caused by intense exertion is damaging to your teeth, as are sugary, acidic workout drinks. And of course, shocking amounts of children’s dental injuries are sports-related. In this article, we’ll explore some of these adverse effects and what you can do to mitigate them.

Sports-Induced Dry Mouth

            While playing sports comes with a variety of positive benefits for health, it also comes with potential negative impacts. This is especially true in children, who may not yet know how to avoid them. One such impact is dry mouth. You know how sweaty and hot you get at your daughter’s soccer games? Imagine how much sweatier she gets, running around on the field!

            The predominant risk here, of course, is dehydration. One of dehydration’s consequences, however, is a dry mouth. This is problematic for your dental health because saliva plays a crucial role in keeping your teeth healthy! When it is depleted, your teeth suffer. 

Sports Drinks

            The neon colors of sports drinks should serve as neon warning lights. Sports drinks are liable to erode enamel and leave stains on your teeth, doing more harm than good. An article reviewing the foods worst for your teeth and gums noted that,

“Even though sports drinks sound healthy, they are packed with sugar and acids and the potential for cavities and erosion is very significant. A study of the erosive effect of acidic beverages on the teeth found sports drinks to be the most erosive drinks of the bunch.”

The study in question pitted energy drinks against some of the most acidic drinks available like soda and energy drinks. Sports drinks still were found to be the most erosive!

The same study found

“Enamel and root surfaces of healthy permanent molars and premolars were exposed to individual beverages (4 enamel and 4 root surfaces per beverage) for 25 hours and erosion was measured.”

The study found that after exposure to the beverages, both root lesion depths and enamel lesion depths were greatest for Gatorade, even over drinks such as Coke and Red Bull.

What does this tell us? If you keep your refrigerator stocked with Gatorade for your son’s football practices, you aren’t the only parent. But Gatorade and other similar sports drinks, though possibly mitigating issues such as dry mouth, cause their own host of issues such as staining and enamel erosion. They are doing more harm than good.

Sports-Related Dental Injuries

            Finally, here’s the kicker—no pun intended—“almost 32% of injuries to children at an oral and maxillofacial surgery department occurred during sports-related activities.” This study, carried out over ten years by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, found that 81% of total dental injuries in the emergency room were in children (ages 17 and younger). In that very same study, they found the information noted above: that nearly one third of children’s injuries requiring treatment in the oral and maxillofacial surgery department were caused by sports.

            These statistics are shocking. They reveal just how likely it is that an accidental elbow to the jaw, a hard fall, or a crash on the trampoline could lead to a chipped and broken tooth, or even lost ones! One dental practice says, “The most common type of dental injury to children in sports is losing a baby tooth prematurely, which can increase the risk of complications such as eating problems and crooked teeth in the future.”

            That’s not the only type of sports-related dental injury. Children may suffer injuries to their face or jaw that can lead to malocclusion. Malocclusion is the term for misalignment between the top and bottom term, or some other form of bite problem. This may be problematic for a child’s speech or eating, and often requires orthodontic intervention.

Protection and Prevention

            When it comes to sports impacting your child’s dental health, it’s crucial to stay vigilant. Make sure your son or daughter stays hydrated so they don’t suffer from dry mouth. Opt for water over Gatorades to do the trick. And finally, make sure your child is wearing proper protective gear to prevent injury from occurring. Mouthguards are demonstrated to reduce the amount of dental and facial injuries suffered during sports and are highly recommended, especially for those who wear braces or implants. There are a variety of options available with varying levels of comfort and cost; speak to your dentist about which would be the best fit for your child. While the thought of your child getting banged up and bruised in sports may be intimidating, there are precautions you can take to keep their smile—and the rest of them—intact, and we are here to help.

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