Three quarters of young players have a gingival disease – study
Some players of the Academy in England have been unable to train due to dental problems, according to a new study that discovered that three quarters of participants suffer from gingival diseases.
The study of researchers from the University College London (UCL) asked 160 players from the Academy who represented 10 British football clubs of the Premier League, the championship and the female Super League to respond to a questionnaire on their oral health and on its impact on sports performance, together with a clinical evaluation of a dentist.
He discovered that young male and female players are more likely to have serious problems with the decay of the teeth and the poor oral hygiene than the non -balls of a similar age.
Dr. Saul Konviser, one of the authors of the study published in the British Medical Journal, told the BBC that there must now be a “multi-facing” approach to cope with the problem, including greater education on cardiovascular issues linked to oral diseases and more dental treatments for players.
“We believe this is a great opportunity to take these tests so that we can advise and support medical teams in clubs,” he said.
“I think it is an opportunity for the sports bodies to act – we do not want negative dental health to affect sports performance. There must be greater understanding that the mouth is part of the body.
“We had players in the projections that complained of dental pain, bleeding gums, saying that they were unable to train in some places due to dental infections. Once there have been traumas there may be problems in progress, even with their ability and their will to compete.”
The identified factors included bad hygiene habits such as the lack of brushing and interdental floss, high levels of consumption of sport and sparkling drinks and stress – probably due to a high performance environment – which can cause grinding teeth and lead to decay.
The study also suggested that some cases of teeth wear were related to gastric acids, with dental screening that reveal patterns similar to those of acid reflux and even in eating disorders such as bulimia.
