Dental hygiene & bodybuilding: WHY IT MATTERS & STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE IT

Digestion starts in the mouth with saliva. As bodybuilders, we eat a lot of food. As the saying goes: you are what you eat. You are also what you digest and absorb. Your gut plays a massive role in energy metabolism, immune function, etc, and considering how we already put a lot of strain on our digestive system from our training and volume of food intake, we need to consider how our oral hygiene affects our digestion and absorption of food. Here are a few connections between oral hygiene, and gut health: Oral Bacteria — Oral bacteria can migrate to the gut and disrupt the balance of microorganisms there, which can lead to inflammation and digestive problems. This is especially likely to happen in people with severe gum disease.

Teeth — Teeth are important for digestion because they help you tear, grind, and cut food. Swallowing food that's only slightly chewed can make it harder to digest because some nutrients and energy may be trapped. Missing teeth can also cause digestive issues like indigestion, choking, and overproducing acid.

Acid Reflux — Gum disease and tooth decay can contribute to acid reflux, which can damage oral health and cause heartburn.

As bodybuilders, we eat A LOT (and frequently). This gives fuel to bacteria, which produce acid while breaking down food (particularly carbohydrates). This acid attacks a tooth and results in mineral loss that eventually causes cavities. Teeth can remineralize, but if you are constantly snacking or eating, your teeth are constantly under attack with no time to remineralize

As bodybuilders, we take in a lot of supplements that involve carbohydrates/sugar — particularly during our pre, post, and intra-workout drinks. When you eat or drink something with sugar, the sugar combines with saliva and bacteria in your mouth to create plaque. The bacteria in plaque break down the sugar and other foods and drinks to produce acid, which slowly dissolves tooth enamel and creates cavities.

Bodybuilders tend to drink a lot of energy drinks, coffee, diet sodas, sparkling drinks, etc - especially during prep - which creates constant acidity in the mouth.

As bodybuilders, we train hard. And when we train hard, we grind our teeth. Chronic jaw clenching and teeth grinding which puts heavy and undue force on tooth-supporting structures like the gums and jawbone. The gums may become tender and painful and sometimes inflamed. Moreover, continuous heavy forces on the gums and the jawbone makes them weak and, with time, can even lead to their destruction and the erosion of teeth (again, no bueno for digestion).

You work so hard on your body, why wouldn't you want to take care of your smile as well? A bad smile doesn’t good on stage or on camera.

Reduce meal frequency. We can consider eating a little less often, eg. 4 meals vs. 6+

Rinsing with water after you eat — especially after sugary meals. This is one of EASIEST and most effective interventions as essentially it washes away the bad stuff.

Chew gum after a meal. This stimulates saliva production and saliva neutralizes the acid and assists in remineralization. Now we don't want to be chewing gum too much as it can cause some digestive issues. So as with anything else, this is a context-specific solution. Consider doing this after your biggest meal, or only if you're having active issues with your oral hygiene.

Brush your teeth 1-2x/day and floss regularly. Brush for around 2 minutes, making sure you spend lots of time on the insides of your teeth and on the backs and your molars. Use an electric toothbrush like Phillips Sonicare which has a timer built in.

Wait 45 min-1 hour after eating (especially acidic things) to brush your teeth. Too soon after you eat you wash away all the saliva, which helps naturally wash away erosive substances and re-harden enamel.

Eat/Supplement with plenty of antioxidants. A meal rich in essential antioxidants reduces the accumulation of plaque in the oral cavity, improves collagen synthesis, reduces tissue damage, and prevents gum disease.

Wear mouthguards while training. If you’re training hard, chances are you’re clenching your jaw. Plus, if you are a stressed person with lots of tension and/or you're more intense-natured like a lot of bodybuilders are, you likely also clench at night (night guards can help too).

Drink plenty of water. Hydration is incredibly important with the amount of food we eat. Drinking plenty of water helps thin saliva and wash away the residue that sticks to your teeth.

Drink acidic drinks (energy drinks, diet sodas, etc) within a 20-min time frame. Don't draw it out. Limit the number of energy drinks, diet sodas, etc that you drink in a day to just one or two. Again, make sure you finish them in a timely manner.