My team, Northampton Saints, were the 2013-14 Rugby Premiership Champions and have some of the world’s greatest rugby stars playing for them.
In sport, success or failure can be determined by the finest of margins so getting just that little bit extra out of your players can make all the difference. Consequently, at Northampton Saints no stone is left unturned in order to maximise performance, with every aspect of the players’ coaching and well-being constantly monitored, reviewed and
modified as appropriate. This applies as much to their oral health as it does to any other aspect of their physical well-being. After all, we all know how debilitating toothache or other similar problems can be.
Because of the contact nature of rugby, players have a high risk of physical damage including dental trauma, which is why most of them wear mouthguards (though surprisingly not all of them). However, they are also susceptible to hidden factors which put them at increased risk of dental disease, including for some players the occasional consumption of sports drinks and increased frequency of dehydration due to open-mouthed breathing and so on.
It was arranged that Resh Dui from Oradi Dental Practice in Northampton, Patrick Kelleher and myself would visit the training ground in order to assess the players’ risk of dental disease. By carrying out this detailed risk assessment it was planned that the following outcomes would be achieved:
- Improved dental health for all the players
- Less future “down time” in regard to visits to the dentist for acute dental problems
- Identification of any “at risk” players and implementation of an appropriate prevention strategy
With the players full cooperation we checked out their saliva at rest, then after the training session had ended. Using GC Saliva Check Buffer Kits we tested for the amount, consistency and pH of each player’s saliva. We then did the same test following a period of stimulation, chewing a wax tablet to measure the amount of saliva produced after five minutes and its buffering capacity to neutralise acids.
The results
Of the 26 players tested, all but two had a resting pH in the green zone. The other two had a resting pH in the yellow zone, one possibly as a result of drinking a well-known sports drink immediately before the test. All 26 exhibited a stimulated saliva flow in the green zone. However the buffering capacity of their stimulated saliva showed a wide range of results, much of it of great concern bearing in mind their tendency to drink large quantities of sports drinks throughout their training sessions. Seven had a buffering capacity in the red zone, 13 had a buffering capacity in the yellow zone and only six had a buffering capacity in the green zone. This clearly indicated that the vast majority of the 26 players were at significant risk of developing dental disease, which would potentially affect their training regimes and may be even their performances during matches. Fortunately only three of the players were currently experiencing any sensitivity.
All the players, excluding one who has an intolerance, but fortunately did not have a problem with his buffering capacity, were prescribed GC Tooth Mousse to act as a noninvasive preventative measure to inhibit enamel demineralisation and induce remineralisation. Helping to provide extra protection for teeth and fight against acid attacks, Tooth Mousse also acts to reduce hypersensitivity by obturating open dentinal tubules, prevents initial caries from forming because of its anti-cariogenic properties and can help reverse white spot lesions.
Where appropriate players were also provided with appropriate dietary and oral hygiene advice in order to improve their plaque scores.
Resh also pointed out that “whilst this was not specifically the purpose of the exercise, we observed that the age of the players correlated with the baseline carious states and periodontal conditions we would have expected. We saw that all the players younger than 21 years old exhibited no carious lesions and had two or fewer previously restored
teeth, they also exhibited positive buffering abilities. Whereas players over 21 years old had a notable increase in their baseline restored/carious teeth and all, bar two, had as a minimum at least one quadrant with a BPE of two. All the players with poor buffering capacity required routine and advanced restorative care.”
Conclusion
Evaluating the quantity and quality of the saliva produced by the Northampton Saints players was very informative and should provide long-term benefits for both the club and its players alike, reducing their risk of dental disease and thereby helping them perform to an even higher standard in the future. These same benefits can be offered to your patients, enabling you to add another facet to your game and helping your patients to reduce their risk of dental disease and thereby enhance their life-styles.