Differences in Oral Health Status in Elite Athletes According to Sport Modalities

Alejandro de la Parte, Francesca Monticelli, Víctor Toro-Román and Francisco Pradas
Additional contact information
Alejandro de la Parte: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Zaragoza, Plaza Universidad, 3, 22002 Huesca, Spain
Francesca Monticelli: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Zaragoza, Plaza Universidad, 3, 22002 Huesca, Spain
Víctor Toro-Román: Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, Avda de la Universidad s/n, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
Francisco Pradas: ENFYRED Research Group, University of Zaragoza, 22001 Huesca, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 13, 1-11

Abstract: Oral health status may affect physical and sports performance. The purpose of this study was to assess the oral health status and oral health habits of elite athletes according to the performed sports type. A sample of 186 elite athletes divided into individual sports ( n = 74; 53 men and 21 women; 24.9 ± 9.3 years) and team sports ( n = 112; 97 men and 15 women; 24.5 ± 4.8 years) participated in the study. The decayed, missing, and filled teeth index (DMFT), the oral health impact profile (OHIP), and the diet assessment of caries risk (DACR) were evaluated to assess their oral health status. Athletes in individual modalities had a lower number in total teeth, healthy teeth, and restoration index ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, this group showed a greater number of missing ( p < 0.001) and decayed teeth ( p < 0.05) and a greater DMFT index ( p < 0.001). A relationship between sports modality and prevalence of malocclusions ( p < 0.01), periodontal plaque ( p < 0.05), and the habit of consuming energy drinks ( p < 0.05) was also highlighted. Elite athletes who compete in individual sports presented a worse oral situation.

Keywords: sports dentistry; athletes; sports discipline; oral health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7282/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7282/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7282-:d:584837

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().