Maintaining A Beautiful Summertime Smile
During the hot summer months, not much feels better than going swimming in cool pool water but studies have shown spending too much time in the pool may lead to teeth discoloration. The chemicals put into pool water to keep it sanitary have been connected to brownish-yellow teeth discoloration in those who spend six or more hours in a pool a day.
A recent study compared the teeth of 404 participants, all of whom were either competitive swimmers or another (non-pool related) athlete. Those who were competitive swimmers experienced significantly more staining as compared to other athletes, with 60.2% of swimmers having the dental discoloration while only 12.9% of non-swimmers exhibited the staining. Other factors that contribute to dental staining were considered, including gender, age, red wine and coffee consumption, and iron supplement use.
While the dental staining resulting from pool use may not look the best, it was generally just found on eight incisors and composed of mostly surface stain. The study also found that the use of competition pools increased the risk for dental staining but that good overall oral health and preventative care (which was defined as regular dental checkups) were found to be protective factors.
Source: Escartin JL, Arnedo A, Pinto V, Vela MJ: A study of dental staining among competitive swimmers. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2000; 28: 10–7. C Munksgaard, 2000
R. Eric Emery, DDS
Morgan A. Emery, DDS
Smile Station Dental
2901 Dougherty Ferry Rd, Suite 400
St. Louis, MO 63122
(314)-821-7100
smilestationdental.com
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