The human body must be seen as a whole. In it, all organs are interrelated and dependent on each other. This is why, more and more, the sportsmen and women from the Region of Murcia undergo routine dental check-ups to ensure that the health of their teeth and gums do not affect their performance on the field of play.
Such is the case of the mouth, an organ with a bacterial micro-ecosystem that must be controlled and stabilised with different defence systems such as the enzymes in saliva and the immune system of the human body.
In this regard, it is important to note that oral pathologies can affect the general state of the organism in different ways:
- The loss of teeth leads to poor chewing and incomplete digestion, decreasing the digestion of nutrients in the digestive tract.
- Bruxism (teeth grinding) can cause headaches due to muscle overload, and can even lead to neck pain through the muscles.
- Oral lesions can be the entry point for bacteria to enter the bloodstream and via the blood to reach different organs, such as bacterial endocarditis that reaches lesions of the heart and can lead to life-threatening thrombosis.
- Finally, it should be noted that bacteria present in the mouth, directly or indirectly, are capable of producing substances such as interleukins and prostaglandins, which can travel through the bloodstream to any part of the body, to the point of accumulating in the muscles and joints, causing joint fatigue and inflammation, which makes injuries easier and slower to recover from.
In fact, in relation to this last point, it is important to note that many athletes with chronic muscular injuries have managed to solve them with a simple routine visit to the dentist in which they have treated an infectious focus caused by a cavity.
Two of the most striking cases are those of footballers such as Leonardo PonzioRiver player who suffered a number of muscle injuries caused by oral infections, or the one of Van PersieArsenal player who, after several injuries, discovered that the source of his injuries was in one of his wisdom teeth.
So, once again, it is important to stress the need for routine visits to professionals. experts in sports dentistry to ensure a state of complete health, starting with the mouth, to ensure that the best physical performance is not affected by an infectious focus at this level.