Effect of dental caries and the consequential variation in blood parameters on the anaerobic performance of rowing athletes

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of dental caries and the subsequent poor oral health on the blood parameters and anaerobic performance of athletes. The study was conducted on 30 elite rowing athletes (18 male and 12 female) who had a DMF-T index value of 3.9 after an oral check-up. The athletes were split into two groups: the study group, which consisted of athletes having four or more infected tooth; and the control group with athletes having one or no infected tooth. The study group consisted of 15 athletes (9 male and 6 female) with infected tooth number ≥4, DMF-T value of 7, and a mean age of 18.73 ± 1.05 years, whereas the control group consisted of also 15 athletes (9 male and 6 female) with DMF-T value of 0.9 and a mean age of 18.26 ± 2.01 years. The anaerobic capacity of athletes was measured using the Wingate test (WanT). The two demographically similar groups had no difference in their blood parameters and urine density values (P > 0.05). Also, no statistically significant difference in the WanT results was observed between the two groups, and WanT performances were similar in both groups (P > 0.05). Further, the superficial decay at the enamel and dentine levels did not negatively impact the anaerobic performance of athletes. On the contrary, it was suggested that studies should be conducted on the effect of severe dental caries at the pulpal level on athletic performance, which may also cause chronic inflammation.

Associations of Blood and Performance Parameters with Signs of Periodontal Inflammation in Young Elite Athletes—An Explorative Study

“…Athletes with higher oral inflammation could be compromised in their performance due to a systemic effect. In contrast, no impact of caries on the anaerobic capacity of athletes was found by another study [ 17 ]. However, this does not contradict a potential influence of oral inflammation as superficial caries generally have less systemic impact.…”

“…The relationship between oral health and anaerobic capacity of athletes has received very little attention. A recent study in elite rowers did not find a relationship between dental caries and anaerobic capacity, although the study had few participants and differences in oral health status between comparison groups were small [ 17 ]. There has been no published research investigating the influence of oral inflammation on the performance of athletes or systemic biomarkers.…”

The European Association for Sports Dentistry, Academy for Sports Dentistry, European College of Sports and Exercise Physicians consensus statement on sports dentistry integration in sports medicine

“…[12][13][14] Deep caries is suspected to have significant effects on the anaerobic performance of athletes, for example by blood parameter variations. 15 The acidic diet of elite athletes is consistent with a high-risk profile for caries and erosion. 16,17 Sports dentistry's efficient integration into sports medicine will allow the sports dentists to provide better oral hygiene advice, to diagnose and treat dental caries in a timely manner and to avoid complications such as apical periodontitis and its association with systemic diseases.…”

“…which is known to induce caries 12–14 . Deep caries is suspected to have significant effects on the anaerobic performance of athletes, for example by blood parameter variations 15 . The acidic diet of elite athletes is consistent with a high‐risk profile for caries and erosion 16,17 …”