DT News - UK - Professional footballers score low in oral health survey

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 2 November 2015

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LONDON, UK: The previous season saw Premier League revenues soar to a new record of more than £3.5 billion. It seems that little of this money is spent on dental care, however, as a new study by researchers at UCL Eastman Dental Institute has revealed that many players throughout England’s three top-tier divisions present with various forms of oral disease.

According to the paper published in the latest edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, over one-third of players who underwent oral health examinations were found to have dental decay and every second player exhibited signs of tooth wear. Periodontal disease was less prevalent, with one in 20 suffering from severe or moderate forms of the condition.

The study involved 184 players from the Premier League (including record champion Manchester United), as well as Championship and League One. The researchers examined the teeth and gingivae of 90 per cent of members of each senior squad and asked the players how they think oral disease affects their quality of life and overall performance.

The majority of players surveyed regarded dental or gingival problems as having little influence on their overall performance on the pitch.

One on five players, however, responded that oral health-related pain has affected their quality of life.

“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,” commented West Ham United’s Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke, whose club participated in the study. “Being part of this study has also helped us as a club to implement tailored interventions to treat and prevent further problems.”

West Ham regularly conducts preventive interventions with a dentist in the off- and pre-season.

Although this is rare, oral health problems can have a direct impact on the game. Last season saw Chelsea midfielder and Player of the Year award winner Eden Hazard missing out on the season final in May that secured his club the title, owing to third molar pain. In order to lower the impact of oral health-related diseases, the researchers suggested new strategies to promote oral health within the professional sport.

“We are pleased that clubs such as West Ham are already embracing the findings and building on their existing interventions by placing oral health care at the forefront of their medical agenda,” Dr Ian Needleman, Professor of Restorative Dentistry and Evidence-Informed Healthcare at UCL Eastman Dental Institute, said. “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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