PoorInRichfield

Do any of you find that your teeth suffer when eating a lot of carbs / sugar during a ride?

I have some recessed gums which are sensitive to sugar which has created a bit of an issue on my bike rides. When I ride for longer distances from 50 to 80 miles, I'm finding my teeth ache when I'm done from consuming high sugar energy drink mixes and energy bars. (I typically use products from Skratch Labs, not that it matters.) I'm wondering if there's some magical way to get enough carbs during a ride w/o impacting my teeth so much? Perhaps drink energy gels through a straw?

tempocyclist

Sometimes yes, especially if I've got loads of sugar/carbs in my bottle and crank down a gel or two on a harder ride. One thing I tried was to have all the carbs in one bottle, then plain water in the second. A swig or two of plain water after the sugar hit can "clear" the mouth somewhat.

Whether this is effective dental treatment is beyond my pay grade though... 😁

PeteHski

While I have thought about this, it has never been a problem for me. My dentist said that the most important thing is to clean your teeth and gums thoroughly before going to bed as it is during the night that your teeth and gums are most vulnerable to decay due to lower saliva production.

Maybe your problem is that your high sugar intake during long rides is highlighting an underlying dental issue rather than the root cause of it? I would discuss it with your dentist.

On the bike I find gels easiest on my teeth because they get swallowed instantly along with a few mouthfuls of plain water. Energy chews and bars are the worst by far.

Polaris OBark

The plain water rinse sounds like the best solution (if you really do need simple sugars).

About a year ago, one of my (adult) kids was chewing an energy gel mid ride and a crown came off his tooth. We got him to the dentist immediately. She is also a cyclist. She said they use something very similar when they want to remove crowns, and advised either something else, or swallowing them whole. Dissolving them in the mouth generates the same blast of simple sugars.

My own non-professional advice: If the sugar irritates your gums, you need to ingest it differently. To the extent you can refuel with normal foods, it is healthier.

Iride01 

What type of sugar is in the stuff you use? You might try stuff with different types of sugar in it. Hammer Nutrition makes a lot of stuff with maltodextrin as it's main sugar. Maybe those will be more tolerable to you. As well, I usually for a 3 or less hour ride just get carbs from the mix I add to my bottles. Sometimes that's all I need for even longer rides.

PSA and personal story, so not necessarily remotely related to your question....
When I was in my late teens, I started getting bad pains below the gum line in my jaw teeth after chewing on candy bars. Snicker's were the worst. I decided to take my dentist's advice and started flossing before brushing in the morning and before bedtime. My teeth haven't hurt like that since.

Carbonfiberboy 

When I started doing a lot of longer distance rides, I realized that a constant supply of carbs and electrolytes was superior to not doing that. My bottles and Camelbak, if that's what I was using, were always full of Cytomax, a powdered mix of cane and fruit sugars with electrolytes, plus I'd eat some solid food too. I did that for a few years and wound up with $20,000 in dental bills over a couple years. So yeah, that'll rot your teeth, you bet. That particular brand isn't made anymore, but there are plenty more just like it on the market.

Now, I use a very concentrated mix of maltodextrin and whey protein, about 750 calories/bottle. I take a swallow of that about every 15' and then a drink of plain water. I've been using that on all my long rides for at least 15 years, no further tooth decay. Maybe it's that the malto is not as corrosive as sugars which are not in long chains, or maybe it was the fructose, or maybe it's the plain water rinse, or maybe all of the above.

Anyway, the OP is right to worry about it.

PeteHski

How can you chew an energy gel?

PoorInRichfield

Thanks everyone. Off the bike, my dental health is good other than I'm almost 50 and once a person's gums recede, there isn't much one can do. I do brush twice a day and floss and haven't had a cavity since I was a child. Receding gums expose the root of a tooth and that root becomes very sensitive to things like sugar. (Warning to you who are younger and don't have exposed gums... be gentle on your gums when you brush!)

I bought some gummies a while back and after one ride realized there's no way I'm using them. They stick to your teeth, seemingly forever, and make the problem worse. I see gummies being advertised everywhere, especially for health supplements, and can't imagine dentists are loving the trend as that means more work for them!

One issue with cycling and carbs on dental health is that if you're pushing hard, or hard enough, you'll likely be breathing through your mouth. The combination of sugars and a dry mouth environment (i.e., no saliva) are no good for dental health.

Iride01 

My wife uses Sensodyne toothpaste because her teeth are sensitive to things. Maybe you should try it.

I'm sure many of us old people have receding gum lines. I do. It's probably why the expression "long in the tooth" is a reference to old people. As for breathing through your mouth, consuming sugar and the impact on your dental health. Sure, but not much. Or do you ride 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? For most of us, riding is a small part of our week no matter what our annual mileage is. Most of us should be able to go three hours without brushing.

And of course none of this is anything new. Are you trying to say that anyone that fuels with sugar during a ride is going to have poor dental health compared to those that don't?

Carbonfiberboy 

Shot Bloks. My wife sucks them, I chew. I have crowns, maybe I shouldn't. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to change my ways.

And I confess to only brushing my teeth in the morning. It never occurred to me to brush them as soon as I got off the bike. Bring the stuff with me and brush in the tavern toilet. No, didn't do that.

Polaris OBark

Would you like me to give you his contact information, so that you can ask him yourself?

Having never done this, I would speculate the mastication process closely resembles that for any other substance that is chewed (gum, tobacco, wombat livers, etc).

Calsun

A food that supports the bacteria that results in gum disease includes breads and pastries. Sugar has other negative impacts but not gum disease. First thing is to get an appointment with a periodontist to fix the gums. Teeth loss from gum disease is something to take very seriously.


I have done successive rides of 100+ miles on tours and I eat a simple easy to digest carb rich breakfast like pancakes and it carries me through to a lunch break which consists of dried fruits and nuts. At the end of a 7-10 day trip and after riding a thousand miles my weight is exactly the same on the last day as it was on the first day. Racers have long cardo loaded by eating a lot of pasta the night before and that can be very healthy if the red sauce does not contain a lot of sugar. Best to shop around and I found with ketchup that nearly all the brands listed sugar as the first ingredient meaning it was in the largest quanity and exceeded the amount of tomatoe paste.


There are many recipes for carob brownies that you can modify to limit the refined sugar in them. A batch takes me an hour to make and then I cut them into pieces that I put in a baggie for use on the road. None of the industrial highly processed ingredients in commercial snack bars are anywhere near as healthy as what I can make for myself. I can avoid refined sugars (including date sugar and sugar alcohols) and with rice powder I get half the carbs of wheat flour and avoid my allergy to wheat that results in sinus congestion for me. I avoid MSG and maltodextrin which oddly enough are even put in pancake mixes.


Your diet and dental hygiene problems are what you are doing when not riding your bike. On the bike focus on staying hydrated as dehydration results in thicker blood and reduces the body's ability to cool itself and puts a great deal of stress on the heart. Most heat stroke deaths are usually noted as the cause of death being heart failure but this is the result of a body core temperature getting so high that the body melts on the inside and organs fail.

PeteHski

Gels are of a thick liquid form. At least in my world of cycling. So not really chewable.

Polaris OBark

I think his had the consistency of gummy bears, and are individually dispensed very soft but defined blocks of sugary goo. (I think another kids had the kind you are referring to when he raced XC, now that I think about it. I never actually looked at the contents.)

Technically, I think what you are referring to is what physical chemists call a colloidal solution, and a gel is a networked polymer. But most people wouldn't make that distinction.

Anyway, the thing that removed his crown was essentially a gummy bear.

PeteHski

Okay I get it now. The word “gel” in sport nutrition refers to a thick liquid shot. You tear off the top of a sachet and squeeze it straight down your throat. His sound more like energy “chews”.

Highcad

What's the calorie breakdown in the 750 cal bottle - how many calories of carb vs protein?

Highcad

[QUOTE=Carbonfiberboy;22955184]

Now, I use a very concentrated mix of maltodextrin and whey protein, about 750 calories/bottle.

What's the breakdown in the bottle (carb vs protein)

Carbonfiberboy 

[QUOTE=Highcad;22961223]7:1, carbs/protein, by weight. I have no scientific reason for this, but it's what Hammer Nutrition has in some of their products, so I figure it's probably not too far off. There's a good argument that any protein takes away from efficient carb burning, which I think is true, but OTOH, there's always tomorrow and my guess is that small amount of protein might just protect some muscle protein from bein cannibalized during a long hard ride. I use chocolate flavored whey, which for me makes the stuff more palatable, also a big deal.

GhostRider62

Your enamel is messed up, try Sensodyne toothpaste with a very soft bristle toothbrush. Sugar should not cause you any toothache on a 50 mile ride.