Michael Jordan was often looked at as the perfect athlete. His superstardom had transcended to a point where he was sometimes even looked at as the perfect man in many people’s eyes. The Chicago Bulls icon had an entire advertisement campaign centered around fans wanting to be like him with the ‘Be Like Mike’ campaign.
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Jordan however, was not the perfect man. He’s admitted that he’s actually more prone to mistakes than the ordinary man because of the sheer magnitude of the spotlight that was on him. With billions across the world knowing his name, it makes sense as to why, in his retirement, he’s dropped out of the limelight altogether.
Even in his earlier days as a professional player, Michael seemed to struggle with a certain aspect of his life. He didn’t know how bad it was until a doctor put things into perspective for him at the 1984 Olympics.
Michael Jordan and his dental hygiene
Michael Jordan signed a 5 year contract worth $2.5 million with Nike in his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls. Prior to him being drafted by the Bulls however, MJ was selected to be a part of the 1984 Olympic basketball team for the Los Angeles Olympics.
This was two Olympics before NBA players would be allowed to participate in the event but luckily for Team USA, Jordan had not yet been drafted into the professional league. While it was quite the experience for him, he did have one hurdle in between and it was his dental hygiene.
Paul Piccininni, a well respected dentist, stated that Michael Jordan was among several hundred athletes who had incredibly poor dental hygiene. “They have the bodies of Adonis and a garbage mouth,” said Paul in regards to MJ and these athletes.
Michael Jordan was almost sidelined from a game due to his dental hygiene
Paul Piccininni once stated that Michael’s oral hygiene was so bad that it could’ve kept him out of a game. Paul would go on to give a litany of reasons for why athletes tend not have the best teeth when compared to the average Joe.
He blames it on everything from protein bars to energy drinks. The fact that athletes are also almost always sweating and dehydrated contributes to this as well as a lack of saliva doesn’t allow for proper regeneration of the enamel.
