Poor Oral Health Severely Impacts Training, Athletic Performance, Says FDI

If they want to win, elite and amateur athletes need to make their oral health a top priority.

FDI World Dental Federation (FDI) couldn’t agree more. Today the organization released a series of sports dentistry resources for amateur and elite athletes, dentists and sports medicine physicians, and sports organizations. The release coincides with a packed summer sports season, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, the Roland-Garros (French Open) finals, and the start of the US Open (golf), to name a few.

Oral injury or trauma are not the only dental dilemmas that arise while practicing sports:

  • Sports-related stress can lead to dehydration, dry mouth, and teeth-grinding.
  • Energy beverages and certain foods and supplements contain added sugars and acidic ingredients, which can cause caries and increase the risk of gum disease and tooth erosion.
  • A dental emergency – such as a gum abscess, infected tooth, or wisdom tooth eruption – before a competition can impair performance or even prevent the athlete from participating at all.

To view the full story, please click here.

RELATED NEWS

RESOURCES