Soccer players in Russia ignore brushing their teeth and it prevents them from playing? Dentist answers

FNL players do not brush their teeth after the game, although European researchers unanimously claim that it helps to recover after matches. Is it true?

Akron coach Evgeny Kaleshin also commented on this fact: “A player has an acidic environment on the mucosa in his mouth after training, it becomes alkaline. The sooner you get rid of this environment, the faster the brain perceives the restoration of glycogen.

If you delay it for 30 minutes, you recover slower, but at the training camp there are two workouts each, and it is important to spend four or five hours between them with maximum benefit.

We had our own locker room at the field. We bought 25 toothbrushes and 10 tubes of toothpaste. The guys laughed at first, and I said that I would personally go and check. We had experienced Gogniev, Lyokha Gai, Bendz – they got into it. And when the older ones do it, the young ones pull up too.

Mida ütlevad teadlased ja arstid

At first glance, there seems to be no connection between oral hygiene and the reduction of injuries. Meanwhile, scientists have proven that physical activity has an impact on dental health.

The study “Physical activity, dental health behavior and oral health status”, published in the journal Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology in 2017, showed that those who exercise regularly have much better oral health.

Doctors say that intense exercise can cause problems with the temporomandibular joint and bite, which in turn affect neck position and posture, as well as maintaining muscle tone.

Daria Karachevtseva

dentist

Intense and prolonged exercise can have a negative impact on dental health, for example, provoking the risk of jaw trismus (spasm of the chewing muscle group). Heavy exercise produces less saliva. The drier the mouth becomes, the higher the PH level will be. Therefore, I recommend brushing your teeth after exercise.

Exercise increases sweating and saliva production, which contains nutrients and minerals needed for healthy teeth, but it also contributes to plaque buildup and tooth decay.

Exercise also causes the mouth to dry out, resulting in less saliva, which affects the natural process of cleansing the mouth of bacteria. Therefore, it is important to follow the rules of oral hygiene, not forgetting about regular brushing and flossing.

Altyna Petrakova

Dental surgeon, periodontist ProDent Concept

The statement about the accelerated recovery of the body by brushing after sports originates from the statements of Martin Schmidt, a former Swiss soccer coach. According to him, at the end of training, acidity increases in the oral cavity, which, once in the bloodstream, negatively affects the body’s recovery process after exercise.

The acidity in the oral cavity during exercise does increase, as saliva production decreases and its pH increases. As a consequence, the process of remineralization of tooth enamel may be disturbed and, consequently, tooth decay may occur.

As for the “penetration” of acids into the blood: the pH of the blood is maintained by the body at a slightly alkaline level and changes in these values indicate the presence of serious diseases.

To summarize

Brush your teeth regularly. If you train very intensively, you may want to do it more often. According to some studies, athletes are more susceptible to oral diseases such as tooth decay, gum disease, etc.

It’s also worth paying attention to what you drink while exercising. Drinks high in simple carbohydrates negatively affect the pH of saliva and are a breeding ground for bacteria, which means they can be one of the causes of tooth decay or gum inflammation.

However, so far it does not cause confidence in our soccer players. For example, Spartak Gogniev, former head coach of Khimki, said that FNL players do not follow the recommendations for oral care after training. Although clubs even create special conditions: they tell, remind, but few people listen.

Train for health, not for harm!