You might expect to feel pain in your legs or gluteal muscles during a run, but mouth pain might surprise you. Weather conditions, dietary deficiencies and mouth disorders can all lead to mouth pain while running. Fortunately, you can prevent and treat mouth pain that occurs during running with medications and lifestyle changes.
Symptoms
Your pain might feel like a throbbing, burning or aching sensation in your mouth. Your pain might occur in a particular place in your mouth, or your entire mouth might hurt, depending on the cause. In some cases, your pain might linger for minutes, hours or longer after you finish your run. You might notice that mouth pain is worse after running in certain weather conditions, or after eating certain types of foods.
Causes
If you have sensitive teeth, running in extremely cold weather might cause your mouth to hurt. In addition, running in dry or extremely hot or cold weather could cause your lips to chap, resulting in mouth pain while you run. Mouth sores such as canker sores, cold sores and other open sores in your mouth can cause pain while you run, especially when breathing through your mouth. If you have mouth sores, drinking acidic, sugary or carbonated beverages before or during a run could worsen your pain. If you wear dentures, a poor fit could cause you to experience pain while you run. A dental problem such as a cavity, abscess or infection can also cause mouth pain while you run. Runners who follow a strict diet might experience a vitamin deficiency that causes pain to develop in the mouth.
Treatments
If your pain results from sores in your mouth, the American Academy of Family Physicians website suggests a topical ointment for oral pain, or gargling with salt water or diluted hydrogen peroxide to treat your pain. Ibuprofen or acetaminophen, as recommended by your doctor, can also help treat your pain. If your mouth pain results from chapped lips while running, apply a lip balm before you go out on your run. Visit your dentist if your dentures are not fitting properly, as he might need to adjust the fit. Other oral problems such as abscesses, dental caries or burning mouth syndrome require medications, and surgical treatment might be necessary to fully relieve your pain.
Prevention
Taking a multivitamin might help prevent mouth pain resulting from dietary deficiencies, but check with your doctor before starting any dietary supplements. Avoid drinking alcohol or smoking, as these can irritate the soft tissues of your mouth or exacerbate existing mouth disorders that cause pain. If running in cold weather hurts your mouth, consider wearing a hat that covers your face as well. If you are prone to tooth grinding or jaw clenching while you run, consider wearing a mouth guard to prevent pain.
