Professional footballers’ bad teeth exposed
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- Published: Tuesday, 03 November 2015 14:25
- Written by News Editor
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Professional footballers have terrible teeth, according to a new study by Professor Ian Needleman of University College London and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. This may be affecting their game. Too many sugary energy drinks and snacks have been blamed for the finding that almost four out of ten players have cavities and almost eight in ten have periodontal disease.
Professor Needleman had previously found that Olympic athletes had poor teeth and said it was not surprising that this put elite sportsmen off their game. “Some of these conditions are painful and that can have an impact,” he said. “The pain can be catastrophic, like an abscess, so you can’t play, or it can distract when you’re playing or disturb your sleep. If it’s distracting it can also affect your confidence and in elite athletics these small differences can have a big impact.”
The study found that 187 footballers at clubs like Manchester United, Southampton, West Ham, Hull City and Swansea have higher levels of tooth decay than the general population, possibly caused by drinking too many sugary sports drinks to boost energy levels. Nearly four out of 10 professional footballers have caries, 57 per cent had tooth erosion, while 80% had gum disease which in some cases was irreversible. This contrasts with one in three adults who have tooth decay in Britain.
Writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers at UCL’s Centre for Oral Health said there was an ‘urgent’ need to tackle poor levels of dental hygiene in football. Professor Ian Needleman, said: “Although the severity of oral ill-health varied from team to team, overall we found that a significant percentage of our top footballers are affected by dental decay, tooth erosion and gum disease, much of which is preventable. But while these findings are worrying we are pleased that clubs are already embracing the findings and building on their existing interventions by placing oral health care at the forefront of their medical agenda. We hope that other teams follow their lead and introduce robust oral health screening and promotion as a routine element of their programmes.”
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