The first ever symposium on oral health and performance in sport took place at UCL on Friday 4 April 2014, organised by UCL Eastman Dental Institute and the Institute for Sport, Exercise & Health.
The day attracted a wide range of attendees and speakers from the fields of oral health and elite sport, including:
- Dr Mike Loosemore, Lead Consultant in Sport and Exercise Medicine at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health and Lead Sports Physician (South of England) for the English Institute of Sport
- Athletes including Olympic gold medallist Mark Hunter and Saracens RFC tight-head prop Petrus de Plessis,
- Team GB medics, coaching and physiotherapy representatives from medal-winning sports including boxing, rowing, cycling and canoeing,
- Oral health and sports and exercise medicine researchers,
- Team dentists from Manchester City and Manchester United,
- Representatives from the USA Academy for Sports Dentistry,
The symposium has led to a consensus statement that will be published jointly by sports medicine and oral health journals, whilst the event attracted national radio coverage and was prominently featured on the BBC news website.