Running should be a regular activity for anyone that wants to maintain a good shape. However, if you are the type that frequently runs either as a career athlete or to maintain a healthy body system, you might behind to experience some aching in your teeth while you are out there running. This can be a terrible experience, especially if you do not have sufficient information about it.
Thankfully, this article will teach you some of the reasons why you experience this pain. Keep reading to discover some essential tips from renowned dentist Dr. Khan on how you can reduce the pain while running.
Causes of teeth pain while running
1. Infections or Cavity
One of the likely causes of tooth pain while running is teeth cavity, often resulting from improper brushing of your teeth. To prevent this, always brush your teeth before taking breakfast and after dinner at night. But you must also remember that brushing your teeth alone is not enough to remove all germs and bacteria from your mouth. Do some research or ask for a referral in help finding a dentist that will look and take care of your oral health.
When these bacteria are not properly taken care of while brushing or by visiting a dentist, the effect is that they eat through the first two layers of your teeth, the enamel, and dentin, leading to nerves in the tooth, causing pain while running.
2. Increase blood flow to areas inflamed by infection
Exercising your body is a healthy activity that you should constantly subject your body to. Through exercise, you can reduce the level of calories, improve blood flow, and other benefits. However, you might feel pain while running because of the increase in blood flow to areas in your teeth that have already been inflamed by bacteria infection.
3. Teeth gritting
Either you are running as a form of exercise or running to get something done; it will impact your teeth. The striking of your foot will not only send a shockwave to your legs; the spread of this wave travels down to your jaw too.
If you notice this form of pain consistently while running, it serves as a significant concern. It could be a result of a sinus infection. If the sinus becomes infected, the nerves entering the teeth cannot be exempted. So, whenever the feet impact the ground while running, the nerves of the teeth can be stimulated, leading to sharp pains.
4. Exposure to extremely warm or cold weather
Extreme cold or hot weather can contribute immensely to teeth pain while running. But the situation may become worse if the teeth have already been infected. To understand how cold or warm weather affects the teeth while running, you need to know the cavity’s structural design.
The teeth cavity is a hole, which means different things can enter if they find the spot. Things like food, liquid substance, bacteria, and air are frequent guests to the teeth cavity. When you run in cold or hot weather, the effect is that you are pulling air into your mouth through your tooth, stimulating the nerves and causing pain.
5. Clenching your mouth while running
Running on pavement, tarred road, or asphalt with your mouth clench can also cause pain due to jarring vibration to your teeth.
6. Poor posture
If you have an injury on one part of your body, you might want to rely on the other part. A slight change in body alignment can significantly impact one side of the body, which inevitably transfer shockwaves that can cause pain to your teeth.
How to combat teeth pain while running?
Often, people find it difficult to differentiate between tooth pain caused by a sinus infection and dental infection until the situation is blown out of proportion. The best way to tackle teeth pain is to pay attention to the early signs from the initial stage, such as bleeding or aching. Other solutions include:
1. Visit your dentist
Only a dentist is in the best position to ascertain why your teeth hurt while running or eating. To assist your dentist, you should gather every relevant information related to the pain from inception to date. This information will help the dentist in understanding the pain history.
2. Immediate fix
Once you have booked an appointment and visit your dentist, some short-term solutions can reduce the pain level. Nerve pain can be brought down to a minimal level by applying some coating the tooth with clove oil. You can also go for anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the pain level.
3. Long term fix
Now the pain level has been reduced. The next phase is working on preventing such pain from happening again now or in the nearest future. The best way to achieve this feat is by strictly adhering to proper oral hygiene and visiting your dentist regularly for a check-up.
Start your oral hygiene by ensuring you brush your teeth at least twice a day. It would be best if you made provision for changing your toothbrush at least once every three or four months.
Conclusion
Running is a form of exercise which is good for your body and mental health. However, if your teeth are infected, you may experience a different pain level in your teeth.
You need to understand your teeth and be conscious of any change at any point. Many factors can cause pain in your teeth, and it will be wrong to make a general assumption without first consulting your dentist.
