Sports dentistry is a discipline that studies the influence of each sport on oral health.
This is, through oral care, enables a safer and more pleasant practice of sports activity. This eliminates the systemic repercussions caused by oral bacteria.
Many of us ignore the mouth and ignore that this can be a problem with great general repercussion. Oral bacteria present in many infectious processes, such as caries, gingivitis or periodontal disease, travel through the bloodstream. These are lodged and causing havoc in various parts, such as the liver, stomach, heart or skeletal muscle system. By causing such damage, performance and sports are inevitably affected. This happens because, when requesting the joint organic effort and this is not in perfect conditions, they begin to provoke injuries.
Oral conditions act directly or indirectly, as we have already discussed. The bacteria from the mouth travel, staying in the skeletal muscle system through the blood. Once they are in this area, they provoke an asthenia that leads to fatigue and muscular fatigue. All this generates a slowdown of the muscle contraction-relaxation system, which causes a loss of fibrillar tone. Then the feeling of fatigue and joint inflammation is created and giving rise to various injuries such as tears, joint pains or tendon injuries with a late recovery.
In a similar way, it influences the cardiovascular system. It causes fatigue of the heart muscle, which does not respond adequately to the overstrain requested at the time of sports practice. In the case of the heart, it can also be affected by a process known as «bacterial endocarditis». It is an affectation of the «sac» that covers the heart by the action of oral bacteria, being a process of special relevance and therapeutic necessity.
Since the origin of the infection occurs at a distant site, the person does not usually relate it and it may take months, even years, without clearly identifying the cause of their problems.
In this blog, we also talk about the negative influence of an anomalous occlusion due to processes of alteration in the position of the teeth. It can also occur due to lack or absence of teeth, which causes havoc in the different muscle chains. This causes an imbalance in the correct posturology and balance, resulting in muscle, neck and back pain.
Likewise, cranial mandibular affections are also frequent in those who exercise professionally. In this case the TMJ (temporomandibular joint) adds microtrauma by bruxism, or dental tightening. This is produced by the stress to which these people are subjected, especially those who play high performance sports. 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.
Whether you are an athlete or not, you must watch your oral health. In this way, you can guarantee a better general health. Also, in case of suffering a muscle injury, joint of doubtful cause, or any ailment that does not heal in a reasonable time, you should consult your dentist. The solution may be to solve oral problems. In addition, you should make periodic reviews and maintain proper hygiene and eating habits. Thus you will always be in the best possible conditions and enjoying an excellent oral state.
Caring for oral health must be the fundamental premise of every athlete and in SJD Dentistas we can help you achieve it.