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Christophe Lequart (Oral health)
During the Olympic Games, victorious athletes often take the famous souvenir photo, in which they bite into their medal with gusto. Is it safe? Why is it better to avoid doing this? Dentist Christophe Lequart answers our questions.
After the effort, comes the time to savor your Olympic medal. And for athletes, the term can almost be used literally, because they all (or almost) have the reflex to put it in their mouth for a souvenir photo. But is it safe for their teeth? We asked Dr. Christophe Lequart, a private dental surgeon and public spokesperson for the UFSBD.
Chewing on your medal, a practice not recommended by the dentist
“It is not recommended to bite into a medal because it is possible to fracture a tooth, especially if it is thinned.” explains our expert. The mishap happened to luger David Möller in 2010, at the Vancouver Olympics, as reported by the German newspaper Bild Zeitung: “During the ceremony, the photographers wanted us to bite into our medals, and I broke off a piece of my upper incisor.” says the athlete. “It’s not dramatic“.
In fact, if the piece of incisor lost is not significant, it can be easily repaired.We can glue the piece back together with composite and it will be invisible.” Dr. Lequart also indicates.And if the piece of tooth lost is minimal, it is enough to simply polish the tooth.”
Be careful because a serious accident can happen
While breaking a piece of tooth is not very pleasant, but ultimately not very serious, biting your medal is still not recommended. “Athletes are not immune to an unfortunate gesture, such as an elbow blow. This creates a shock on the dental surface and a significant injury to the tooth, which can bleed or even fall out in the most serious cases.” warns the specialist. No point in spoiling your victory with a stupid accident, in short.
Taking care of your teeth is essential for an athlete
To take care of their teeth, athletes have access to free care during the fortnight of the Olympic Games, provided by the Paris 2024 dental clinic, open 24 hours a day and which has 60 specialists.
“Athletes must absolutely take care of their teeth, on the one hand because decay can be painful and prevent them from succeeding during their ordeal, but also because it can have an impact on their body” exhibits Christophe Lequart.
By what means? “LBacteria present in the mouth can enter the bloodstream through a damaged tooth and then migrate through the body until they settle on an inflamed tendon affected by a tendonitisfor example. This will have the effect of aggravating the lesion and maintaining its inflammation.”
Before concluding : “It is important to remember that teeth are not a tool, they should not be used to open a bottle, for example.” Taking care of your teeth is important for everyone, but even more so when you are a high-level athlete.