There are so many aspects to a person’s health that can put the brakes on getting fit and being active. Everything from repetitive injuries, poor nutrition, sprains and strains, all the way up to more serious issues such as heart problems can become road blocks. When you think of these different types of health related problems, we don’t usually think to include poor oral health.

Placing your oral health into a category of things that can have an impact on your fitness is not commonly thought about. In fact, what many of you already know is poor oral health can lead to many mainstream health complications and have negative impacts to your overall well-being, so adding the fact it can affect your exercise and fitness efforts should be no surprise.

There is a growing amount of research that shows poor oral health affects you in ways that are just now being better understood. For years, serious, even life-threatening health conditions have been linked back to gum disease, abscesses and tooth decay. What is not understood is to what extent the bacteria and inflammation from gum disease affects our overall body function leading to disease. Researchers have found solid links that connect the effects periodontal disease has in conjunction with heart disease, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.

What new studies are finding is poor oral hygiene can be a trigger to the onset of a number of unhealthy conditions that have not normally been associated with your teeth and gums. Not only can poor oral health lead to disease, it can make a pre-existing medical condition much worse. On top of these facts, add the impact that the bacteria and inflammation has on your immune system, stressing your ability to fight illnesses. The most frustrating aspect of these conditions is oral health problems are easily avoided by maintaining daily oral hygiene and making sure you have biannual check-ups along with cleanings.

So we know that gum disease and tooth decay can lead to serious health problems. How do these oral health issues impact your fitness and exercise regimens? First, let’s put the issue of poor oral health into perspective. Information from the Center for Disease Control estimates that 47 percent of adults in the U.S. have some level of gum disease. I think it is fair to say a lot of people, healthy or not, do not place their dental health very high on the must-take-care-of list. As for health-minded athletes, another study that was done during the 2012 Olympic games found among the 302 athletes who took part in the study, 76 percent of them had periodontal disease that had the potential to affect their performance and quality of life.

The specifics around how gum disease and tooth decay specifically impact fitness activity and exercise is not well understood. It is pretty obvious that moderate to severe gum disease and the associated bacteria entering your blood stream can stress a healthy active person’s overall system. One area that many of us have experienced comes in the form of pain and discomfort from tooth decay. Nothing puts a run or training session on hold quicker then the sensitivity from a bad tooth.

The other aspect that needs more in-depth study is the effect gum disease and inflammation has on endurance, fatigue and recovery during exercise. Since bacteria-caused inflammation has been linked to increased heart disease, one could conclude that this same inflammation would, over time, affect a healthy, active person’s ability to recover effectively and reduce their energy levels.

To add to the problem of poor oral health in active people, it has also been found that endurance athletes, for example, have a higher risk of tooth erosion and decay. Much of this problem for athletes comes from sports or energy drinks. The electrolytes found in these drinks affect the pH level of the mouth and can damage your teeth. One study found the high acidity of these sports drinks would start damaging teeth in a matter of days when active people drink them consistently.

Sports and energy drinks — coupled with the fact that during fitness activity, people tend to breathe heavily through their mouths — creates the perfect environment for bacteria. With the corrosive effects from sports drinks and dry mouth, the picture can be bleak for active people’s oral health. All the more reason highly active people and athletes should ensure their daily oral hygiene is consistent and they have regular dental check-ups.

Now with all this stated, if you pay attention to your oral health, maintain good oral hygiene and swap sport drinks with water, regular exercise can be helpful. At least one study found in the Journal of Dentistry showed that regular exercise can help lower the risk of gum disease. The study found people who did not smoke and exercised regularly had a 54 percent less likely chance of developing gum disease. Again, this is based on one important factor, that you practice daily good oral hygiene and take care of your teeth and gums.

Sticking to a healthy dental regimen will also keep your oral health on track. Here are a few things to consider for good dental care. Brush your teeth twice a day and flossing is one of the best ways to keep gum disease from developing. Floss after meals and rinse regularly along with dental cleanings at least twice a year, and have your dental professionals do a check up at the time.

Poor oral health does not need to be one of those things that slows down your health, overall wellness or fitness. Keeping your oral health a daily priority is just one more way to be in peak shape and healthy.

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Judd Jones is a director for The Hagadone Corporation in Coeur d’Alene.