Experts warn elite athletes to pay attention to their teeth in Paris

They are super fit and at the top of their game, yet our Olympic athletes are prone to additional health risks that have had experts concerned for decades. Here’s why.

Elite athletes are being urged to take extra care of their teeth, and not just to make sure they are picture perfect for the cameras.

Dentists have warned that athletes including swimmers and weightlifters are exposed to additional oral health risks because of the nature of their sport.

President of the Australian Dental Association Scott Davis said long-term exposure to chlorinated water in pools over many years can cause tooth erosion for swimmers.

For weightlifters, he said it can be tooth fractures caused by stress when they inadvertently clench their jaw to lift the barbell.

The experts say elite swimmers need to take extra care of their teeth to protect them following many hours of training in chlorinated water. Picture: Manan Vatsyayana

Gymnasts risk damage because they don’t wear mouth guards to protect them on the beam or high bar, while it is acidic drinks that can cause erosion to the teeth of our distant runners.

Dr Davis said there are simple solutions that can help athletes at all levels of sport.

“When you get out of the pool it’s a good idea to drink some fresh water and not brush your teeth for at least half an hour to allow for the teeth to harden back up a little,” Dr Davis said.

He said tooth mousse can also help.

Gymnasts risk teeth damage because they don’t wear mouth guards on the beam or high bar. Picture: Lionel Bonaventure

Tooth mousse is a creation of researchers from Melbourne University’s Melbourne Dental School, now on the market after clinical trials showed it helped to improve oral health by strengthening teeth and improving gum health.

“People with very sensitive teeth who swim a lot in chlorinated pools, again because of acid and chlorine, I recommend tooth mousse which is basically super saturated calcium so it’s like moisturiser for teeth,” Dr Davis said.

“It puts calcium back in your teeth. If you haven’t got erosion you don’t need it, but older Australians would probably have some form of erosion so they may benefit.”

Dental experts have been concerned about the teeth of top athletes for decades.

Adding extra calcium is like moisturiser for the teeth.

It started with the high number of footballers in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden with untreated oral health problems, but it was a study of athletes at the 2012 London Olympics that highlighted the prevalence across all sports.

Lead researcher Ian Needleman said then that intense training stressed their immune systems, while leaving them little time to attend to or even think about their teeth.

A professor of periodontology at University College London, Prof Needleman reported the results showed high levels of poor oral health including dental caries (also known as tooth decay or dental cavities) in more than half of the athletes in the study, 45 per cent presented with dental erosion and most had some periodontal disease.

The researchers said of the 302 athletes in the study, nearly half had not undergone a dental examination or hygiene care in the previous year.

ADA president Dr Scott Davis said athletes can improve oral health by swapping acidic and sugary sports drinks with nature’s best hydrator, water.

Flagging that poor oral health resulted in “substantial negative impact on wellbeing, training and performance” the researchers said health promotion and disease prevention interventions were urgently needed to optimise athletic performance.

Paris listened.

It is the first Olympics to offer a dedicated oral health department for athletes with specialist treatment, X-rays and even to replace lost or damaged mouth guards.

For those not at Olympic level, Dr Davis said you can start improving your oral health by swapping acidic and sugary sports drinks with nature’s best hydrator, water.

Dental Health Week starts on Monday.