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Footballers have bad teeth and it seriously effects the way they train


Saint86
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Article on the BBC stating that we took part in a recent football study into footballers teeth and that it can prevent footballers training due to the pain etc...

 

Does anyone know of any players this effects at the club? Would be interested to know if we have had any serious problems with it? Don't know if this gets checked in medicals :lol:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34699583

 

Professional footballers have worryingly poor teeth that could be affecting their performance on the pitch, say dentists.

 

Their study on players at eight clubs in England and Wales, in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, showed nearly four out of 10 had cavities.

 

West Ham United's medical staff said athletes often had worse teeth than the general population.

Regularly consuming sugary foods is one possible explanation.

 

The dentists, from the International Centre for Evidence-Based Oral Health at University College London, examined 187 players' sets of teeth.

 

They found 53% had dental erosion, 45% were bothered by the state of their teeth and 7% said it affected their ability to train or play.

 

Around 40% had tooth decay, compared with 30% of people of a similar age in the general population.

Prof Ian Needleman, one of the researchers, told the BBC News website: "These are individuals who otherwise invest so much in themselves so it's a surprising finding.

 

"There are two main groups - some have a catastrophic effect, they have very severe abscesses that stop them in their tracks and they cannot play or train.

 

"There'll be others experiencing pain affecting sleeping or sensitivity every time they take a drink.

"At this level of athlete, even small differences can be quite telling."

 

Nutrition is one of the primary suspects with frequent consumption of sugary or acidic foods during training potentially accounting for tooth decay and erosion.

 

A lot of air in the mouth during exercise can also dry it out so there is less protection from saliva.

Prof Needleman said that while "these findings are worrying" clubs were giving dental health a "higher priority" and were educating their players.

 

Previous research has shown "striking" levels of bad teeth in athletes competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

 

The teeth of athletes at London 2012 were broadly in the same state as those of footballers.

Players from Manchester United, Hull, Southampton, Swansea, West Ham, Brighton, Cardiff and Sheffield United all took part in the study.

 

Stijn Vandenbroucke, the head of medicine and sports science at West Ham, said there were "clear preventive benefits for athletes and club".

 

He added: "Oral health is an area where many athletes have greater problems than the general population so it has been a massive achievement for so many professional football clubs to collaborate with each other to help us understand the scale of this problem better."

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It's a popular stereotype in the US that Brits all have bad teeth and they kind of have a point. The number of people I've seen with a mouth like a vandalised graveyard is disturbing. I'm not sure if it's poor diet, poor personal hygiene, a lack of dental care or combination thereof.

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I'm sure I read years ago that AC Milan refused to sign a player on the strength of a dental assessment, as they felt he would be highly susceptible to injuries.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/aston-villa-defender-aly-cissokho-reveals-that-bad-teeth-were-to-blame-for-his-failed-move-to-ac-9746035.html

 

I'd imagine him being **** these days is more of a reason he won't get a move.

 

Imagine how good Dowie could have been with a decent set of teeth :eek:

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90% of footballers have gum disease which is astonishing. Remember Brett Ormeroid constantly had ear infections " due to poor personal hygiene. Rotting teeth and gums are often behind ear infections. Who'd marry or date a footballer?

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It's a popular stereotype in the US that Brits all have bad teeth and they kind of have a point. The number of people I've seen with a mouth like a vandalised graveyard is disturbing. I'm not sure if it's poor diet, poor personal hygiene, a lack of dental care or combination thereof.

Not that many "Brits" in the current Southampton team (outside of the Academy). At least most Brits don't waste their time and potentially harm their teeth with the overuse of whiteners like some do stereotypically.

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Is no-one else going to say "affects"? It's even right in the text lifted from the website.

 

Tch. :shakey:

 

Anyway, I seem to recall dental checks have been a thing for years in football, I remember Man U used to do them about 20 years ago, can't remember why but some kind of general health indicator.

Edited by The9
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I will always remember going out with a footballer many years ago (70's), I went and watched him play in a friendly match at Colden Common he ran out of the dressing room and headed directly for me, thinking he was going to give me a hug or kiss, he then to my horror just said look after these for me darling and gave me his four top teeth, they were not even wrapped in a tissue.

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I will always remember going out with a footballer many years ago (70's), I went and watched him play in a friendly match at Colden Common he ran out of the dressing room and headed directly for me, thinking he was going to give me a hug or kiss, he then to my horror just said look after these for me darling and gave me his four top teeth, they were not even wrapped in a tissue.

 

:lol:

 

And they say romance is dead.

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I will always remember going out with a footballer many years ago (70's), I went and watched him play in a friendly match at Colden Common he ran out of the dressing room and headed directly for me, thinking he was going to give me a hug or kiss, he then to my horror just said look after these for me darling and gave me his four top teeth, they were not even wrapped in a tissue.

 

Lets be honest, if he only had four top teeth to give you then you should probably have known what you were getting into anyway? ;) :lol:

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think the damage was done for Joe Jordan - long before he came to Saints......

 

I seem to recall that he always seemed to look the same. Don't know when / how he lost his front teeth...?.

He lost his front teeth in the early days at Dirty Leeds playing in a reserve match, probably 12 or 13 years before he joined Saints. He earned his nickname Jaws as a result, likened to the character in the Bond films. Still I guess the income he received from Heineken adverts went some way to paying his dental bills. A more appropriate image:

article-1357497-0D37BC8F000005DC-467_306x289.jpg

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