London 2012 athletes 'had bad teeth'

Dentists have found "striking" levels of
bad teeth in athletes competing at the
London 2012 Olympic Games.
A fifth of athletes surveyed said their oral
health actually damaged their training and
performance.
The study, published in the British Journal of
Sports Medicine, suggested cavities, tooth
erosion and gum disease were common.
Researchers said athletes, as a group, had
worse dental health than other people of a
similar age.
The beaming smiles of gold-medal winners
Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Mo Farah are
some of the defining memories of London
2012.
But a team at University College London says
many competitors had dental problems.
"Our data and other studies suggest that, for a
similar age profile, the oral health of athletes
is poor. It's quite striking," said lead
researcher Prof Ian Needleman.
He said eating large amounts of carbohydrates
regularly, including sugary energy drinks, was
damaging teeth.
He added that the stress on the immune
system from intense training may leave
athletes at risk of oral disease and that a
fixation on training, preparation and other
aspects of health may leave little time or
awareness of oral health.
The study looked at those visiting the dental
clinic at the Games, which offered free check-
ups and mouth guards.
Competitors using the clinic may have been
more likely to have dental problems than other
athletes, but the research group say their
findings are consistent with previous studies.
Of the 302 athletes examined, from 25 sports,
55% had evidence of cavities, 45% had tooth
erosion and 76% had gum disease.
One in three said their oral health affected
their quality of life and one in five said it
affected training or athletic performance.
Teeth to training
Oral health is already a suspect in other
seemingly unrelated conditions such as heart
disease. People who do not brush twice a day
are at higher risk of a heart attack and
inflammation is common to both.
The researchers suggest inflammation
elsewhere in the body may also affect recovery
time and susceptibility to injury.
They added that tooth pain and the resulting
impact on diet and sleep may also damage
performance.
Prof Needleman, who is also director of the
International Centre for Evidence-Based Oral
Health, told the BBC: "We know the
differences at the high end of elite sport are
small, it would not be surprising if oral health
was having an impact on those differences.
"Many sports medics have anecdotes about
athletes missing medals at major competitions
as a result of oral health problems."