This is the time of year many teenagers and youth in the practice tell me about their sports practices and games. In turn, I also have more kids acknowledge they are drinking sports drinks on a regular basis.While sports drinks can be especially beneficial for replacing electrolytes in children intensely exercising for longer than 60 minutes, adopting particular sports drink habits can sometimes threaten the health of their mouth. Sports drinks are extremely acidic (optimal pH for cavity bugs) and have large amounts of carbohydrates (food for cavity bugs).
Taking the sports drink “off the field” is the most alarming trend to guard against. Once kids and parents get acquainted with the taste of sports drinks, they often start consuming them even when they are not exercising. The sports drinks end up in the fridge where they are consumed on demand and throughout the day.
Like all other sugary drinks, controlling frequency and timing is essential.
Here are some additional practices recommended by the Chicago Dental Society to help protect your child’s teeth from decay:
- Use sports drinks in moderation. Water is the best drink for light workouts when less body fluids are lost
- Dilute sports drinks with water
- If possible, use a straw to reduce contact between the drink and teeth. Do not hold the drink in your mouth or swish it around.
- Do not brush your teeth immediately after consuming a sports drink. The acid in sports drinks makes teeth softer and brushing can cause protective enamel to be lost.
Please keep in mind the 20 ounces of sports drink in your child’s bottle probably contains more electrolytes than he or she will need. Water should still be your child’s primary source of hydration. Most importantly, keep the sports drink reserved for the time your child truly needs the energy and mineral replacement: during intense athletic activity on the field and not for hydration around the house.
I have the privilege of discussing soccer games and football practice with your child twice a year. You are there every kick and tackle along the way. I hope you feel better equipped to coach your child for good oral health during the fall sports season! Go team!
2 comments:
Sports drinks typically have about two-thirds the amount of sugar of soda and more sodium than soft drinks. A 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade has 270 milligrams of sodium, about 12 percent of a teen’s daily allowance.Representatives of the beverage trade group say that sports drinks are “appropriate” for high school students and “essential” to young athletes, who apparently survived without energy drinks before 1969 on sheer luck
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Mobin
Promoter
It is amazing, isn't it.
Remember, sports drinks to fall into the pH range that will dissolve tooth enamel, and even 2/3 the sugar of soda is enough for the cavity causing bacteria to do quite well in life.
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