In recent times, sports fans have been tackled several times by studies that are not very friendly towards physical exercise. While the great sportsmen are criticized for drink too much alcohol or from abuse their heartsand their arteries, a new study strikes them a right hook … in the gums.
This time, it was dentists at the Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany who were behind this new frontal attack. They are concerned about the oral health of athletes. According to the Germans, the longer the training period, the more the athlete damages the teeth.
Their reasoning is enough to cringe all top athletes: the more you exercise, the less saliva is produced, which makes it more alkaline. This acidity would eventually cause tartar and promote cavities as well as gum disease (just that). Running could reduce the protein that protects the enamel. A process of erosion against which even the hydration of athletes could do nothing.
The researchers base their conclusions on observing the teeth of 35 triathletes and 35 non-athletes. According to them, each new hour of exercise could harm a little more the smile of the athletes.
Are German researchers lying like tooth pullers? The academics relativize the scope of their discovery by explaining that the cause and effect link is not directly established. Their conclusion corroborates another study that revealed the poor dental health of athletes who participated in the 2012 Olympics. This work, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, revealed that three quarters of 278 athletes suffered from gum disease, d dental erosion or caries.
