Sports dentistry is a discipline that studies the influence of each sport on oral health and through oral care, enables a safer and more pleasant practice.
The mouth is one of the areas of our body that we care less, without realizing that suffering from some type of disease in our mouth can lead to problems of greater nature in the rest of the body, directly affecting other organs of the body such as the heart, the stomach, the liver and the entire skeletal muscle system, among others. Bacteria of the mouth present during oral infections pass into the bloodstream being related to erectile dysfunction, diabetes, respiratory, muscle, joint and / or cardiovascular problems.
Physical and oral health is paramount for good performance.
On the one hand, bacterial plaque is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases since these bacteria when coming into contact with the blood flow can lead to the formation of clots and cause a heart problem.
And another aspect to keep in mind, is the influence on the performance of an athlete. It is scientifically proven that many joint and muscle injuries are the result of infectious foci of the teeth and / or paradental (tissues surrounding the tooth).
The cranial mandibular affections are also frequent in those who exercise professionally and where the TMJ (temporomandibular joint) suffers and adds microtramatisms of bruxism, or dental clenching, produced by the stress to which these people are subjected, especially those who work in high performance In this same line, bruxism will not only affect the teeth (wear) but also cause pain at the level of the muscles of the head, neck and back.
Today’s medicine aims at prevention, dentistry too.
We must monitor oral health, specifically the gum and perform a review at the beginning of each season, also in case of muscle or joint injury of doubtful cause and in any ailment that does not heal in a reasonable time.
It is the task of the odontostomatologist to make an exhaustive follow-up if possible during the competition period. We believe it opportune to perform an oral examination at least twice a year, one of them coinciding in the preseason.
Brush your teeth and floss after every meal and always before going to sleep because when the activity of the mouth decreases there is an increase in the production of bacteria.
Caring for oral health must be the fundamental premise of every athlete.
