Millions of fans around the world will be glued to screens in the coming weeks to watch remarkable displays of speed, precision and endurance in the world's most important football competition. But what if behind every sprint, or every decisive kick also lies an often-overlooked factor related to an athlete's performance?
A new report by the Economist Enterprise, commissioned by the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and supported by Curasept was published today. Winning margins: The impact of oral health on athlete performance, addresses the way oral health can impact success in sports by looking at the potential mechanisms involved.
Athletic outcomes depend on a complex mix of physical, psychological, environmental and lifestyle factors, including nutrition, hydration, sleep, stress and genetics. "However, oral health is a key factor that is often overlooked, despite growing evidence that deficits can drive inflammation in the body," said Professor Nicola West, EFP officer. "Current evidence suggests that oral health and athletic success interact in many ways, and it should be taken into account."
Fabian Marc Hürzeler, head coach of English Premier League football club Brighton & Hove Albion, interviewed for the report, highlights that too many athletes "continue to underestimate the importance of oral health in sport, especially compared to areas like nutrition, even though both can impact performance. There's a clear imbalance in how we prioritize these factors." This and other examples are analyzed in the report.
Kate Shortman, a British Olympic athlete and medallist in artistic swimming, interviewed for the report, also mentions that "one thing that needs to change is awareness—oral health isn't always seen as a priority in elite sport, even though it can have an important impact on performance and overall health."
Key findings of the report include the complex ways in which oral health can affect athletic performance. It covers how oral inflammation can affect body-wide systemic inflammation, the relationship of oral health and impaired nutrition, how dental pain can harm physical and psychological states and quality of life, how your brain and body team up to sense, move, and react to the world around you and implications for strength and balance as well as other risks (such as acidic environments in poorly controlled swimming pools potentially leading to erosive tooth wear and tooth staining).
The Economist Enterprise report has some useful strategies that any athlete can use to improve their performance, and the starting point is raising awareness on the importance of oral health and its vital link to general health. The report shows how this motivates athletes, but also their coaches and teams, pointing out the benefits that good oral hygiene and dental follow-ups bring to performance.
"Awareness of the importance of oral health in sport is still very low. Teams and sports bodies need to prioritize it and include sports dentistry just as they have included sports medicine as part of the team. Evidence shows that oral health presents an opportunity to prevent injuries and improve outcomes," said Professor Moritz Kebschull, EFP past president (2024-2025).
Sports dentists, says the Economist Enterprise report, can help prevent, detect and treat tooth decay, erosive tooth wear, gum disease, malocclusion (bad bite), temporomandibular disorders (a condition affecting the movement of the jaw) and other injuries. They can also recommend the use of adequate mouthguards. "Sports federations play a vital role in athlete wellbeing because they influence both policy and the support systems around training and competition. By embedding oral health into routine care, education and prevention programmes, they can help athletes perform at their best and recover more effectively," said Elizabeth Sukkar, senior research manager at Economist Enterprise, who led the research.
"Dental erosion and other oral health pathologies represent increasing conditions in athletes and can affect their general health and sport performance." explains Marta Giovannardi, Clinical Affairs & Quality Manager at Curasept. "The challenge for modern dentistry is to keep the attention high on such issues, raising patient awareness, fostering a culture of prevention and recognising the early signs, also through preliminary questions during medical anamnesis."
In its conclusions, the report encourages researchers to keep developing useful ways to measure how oral health affects sports performance. This includes carrying out long-term studies and research that looks at how things work, as well as studies that show just how common oral health problems are. "Harnessing good oral health to improve sports performance requires action at every level — from individual athletes to teams, organisations, and society as a whole," highlighted Professor Anton Sculean, EFP secretary general, commenting on the report.
"The EFP is committed to advancing this agenda by providing scientific evidence, developing evidence-based recommendations, and raising awareness of the importance of oral health screening and prevention. While athletes may particularly benefit from optimal oral health, these principles are relevant to everyone," concluded Professor Mia Rakić, EFP president.
The paper was launched today on occasion of the International Congress of Oral Health (CISO), an initiative reflecting Curasept's commitment to offering the country a space for reflection, placing the human-being at the centre and highlighting the importance of overall well-being, starting with oral health. The Congress organized by Curasept on occasion of its 25th anniversary, patronized by EFP and participated by numerous scientific societies, has gathered together experts from the Italian and international scientific community, and representatives of institutions; all in order to focus on prevention and cooperation among different branches of the healthcare community.
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