Home and Away | English Premier League players facing teething problems
Lack of oral hygiene could be one of the reasons why some footballers playing in the top flight lack bite as studies suggest
Does your team lack bite? Do the players look toothless in the face of opposition?
A new medical report has concluded a dire level of dental health among topflight footballers is affecting their on-pitch performance.
Manchester United's lack of attacking football, Liverpool's penchant for draws, Chelsea's slump, Newcastle's and Sunderland's woes, Bournemouth's top-flight failings and Aston Villa's implosion could all be partly blamed on players neglecting their pearly whites, according to findings published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
A flick through old football albums reveals bad teeth and footballers have long lived cheek by jowl
Qualified dentists from the International Centre for Evidence-Based Oral Health at the University College London found four out of 10 professional footballers have dental cavities, while one in 20 has irreversible gum disease. Others suffer infections while many experience regular toothache.
They examined 187 players' sets of teeth and found 53 per cent had dental erosion, 45 per cent were "bothered" by the discomfort caused by the state of their teeth, and seven per cent said it affected their ability to train or play.
"If your favourite soccer team isn't doing well, you might want to ask them if they are they looking after their teeth," British Dental Association scientific adviser Professor Damien Walmsley advised fans.
Why the dental health of footballers appears to be worse than for the general population, of which 30 per cent suffer tooth decay, is unknown. But the aversion to fluoride and flossing baffles because not many demographics spend more time and more money grooming themselves than English Premier League footballers.