Premier League footballers suffering from bad teeth, study claims
Tuesday 3 November 2015 10:32, UK
Footballers could suffer a dip in form due to poor dental health, with researchers claiming more than three-quarters of professional footballers suffer from gum disease.
The study of professional footballers from eight clubs in England and Wales, including Manchester United, was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and showed almost 40 per cent of players have dental cavities.
Dentists based at the International Centre for Evidence-Based Oral Health at the University College London discovered 84 per cent of the 187 footballers surveyed had at least one decayed or filled tooth.
Almost half of the players - aged 24 on average - claimed they were "bothered" by their oral health, with a fifth claiming it impacts their quality of life and seven per cent reporting an impact on training or performance.
"Few teams integrate oral health promotion within overall medical care, and there is therefore lack of ongoing support and reinforcement of this health area for the athletes," the study claimed.
"Oral health of professional footballers is poor, and this impacts on wellbeing and performance. Successful strategies to promote oral health within professional football are urgently needed. Furthermore, this study provides strong evidence to support oral health screening within professional football."
Players from Manchester United, West Ham, Southampton, Swansea, Hull, Brighton, Cardiff and Sheffield United all took part in the research, which showed 77 per cent had visited the dentist in the last 12 months.
Approximately 40 per cent had tooth decay - some 10 per cent more than people of the same age among the general population - while 53 per cent had dental erosion.
One explanation for the below average dental health of footballers is the amount of sugary energy drinks they regularly consume but the experts say that this link is "unclear' at this stage. A previous study of athletes competing at the London 2012 Olympics produced similar findings.
