Salivary pH and oral health of Brazilian para‐athletes: Saliva and oral health of para‐athletes

Abstract

Aims This study aimed to investigate the association of the salivary pH and parameters of oral health in Brazilian para‐athletes. Methods and results The sample was composed of 271 Brazilian para‐athletes (147 athletics, 61 powerlifting, and 63 swimming); mean age was 31.2 ± 11.7 years. Data collected during anamnesis, clinical examination, and saliva collection revealed that salivary pH was different among sports (p = .01) and tends to decrease as age and body mass index (BMI) increase (p = .026, .027, respectively). The mean decay missing filled teeth was 8.8 (±0.57), but there is no correlation with salivary pH (R2 = −0.0852; CI 95%, −0.215–0.047; p = .194) as habits of grinding, clenching teeth, or bruxism was not associated with salivary pH (p = .317, .932, and .444, respectively). Regarding breathing, para‐athletes that have buccal breathing had significantly higher salivary pH (p = .04). This data were confirmed by multiple logistic regression (p = .05). Open bite, lip seal, geographic or fissured tongue also were not associated with variation of salivary pH (p > .05). Conclusions This study provided evidence of an association between salivary pH with age, BMI, type of breathing, and type of sport practiced by the para‐athletes

A Bibliometrics-Enhanced, PAGER-Compliant Scoping Review of the Literature on Paralympic Powerlifting: Insights for Practices and Future Research

“…A total of 21 items were duplicated and were, as such, removed, and 44 items were inspected. Seven studies [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] were excluded with reason ( n = 2, not reporting sufficient details; n = 5, not disaggregating data according to para-sports discipline). Finally, 37 studies [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ] were retained in the present scoping review.…”

A tale of two stories: COVID-19 and disability. A critical scoping review of the literature on the effects of the pandemic among athletes with disabilities and para-athletes

“…More precisely, concerning the population of our study, we note that terms, such as “adapted sport,” “disability sport,” “Paralympic sport,” and “Para sport,” are words commonly used in an interchangeable fashion to indicate sports disciplines that accommodate people with any kind of disability, including physical/motor, sensory and intellectual/relational/developmental disabilities, practicing sports as a recreational physical activity or participating in organized competitions ( Brancher et al, 2021 ). On the other hand, “Paralympic sport” is often utilized as a term to specifically describe sports disciplines that compete in Paralympic events, such as the Paralympic Games ( Brittain, 2016 ; Townsend et al, 2018 ), organized under the auspices of the “International Paralympic Committee” (IPC), the global governing body responsible for the development of Para sport and, more generally speaking, a more socially just and inclusive sports world.…”

“…On the one hand, physical activity and exercise could counteract or, at least partially, mitigate against this burden ( Chtourou et al, 2020 ; Ghram et al, 2021 ), especially in people living with disabilities. An accumulating body of evidence has, indeed, shown that regularly practicing sports can promote rehabilitation, and improve physical and mental health and wellbeing, resulting in better self-confidence, self-esteem, psychological balance, self-acceptance, social inclusion, and integration, as well as enhanced quality of life ( Puce et al, 2017 ; Puce et al, 2019 ; Brancher et al, 2021 ). On the other hand, COVID-19 has affected the sports world as well, disrupting the training and preparation of athletes, causing, in some cases, reduced opportunities to access gyms, fitness centers, and other sports infrastructure, and resulting in confinement-induced detraining in several cardio-pulmonary (i.e., cardiac output, VO 2max , maximal stroke volume, and artero-venous O 2 difference) and musculoskeletal (muscle mass, strength, and power) variables ( Cavaggioni et al, 2022 ).…”

Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation to Improve the Physiology and Psychology Response, Response-Ability, and Sleep Efficiency in Athletes with Poor Sleep Quality

“…After blood was drawn, urine and saliva were collected from the participants. Participants were asked to chew a sterile rubber to stimulate the salivary flow, and saliva was collected during 5-minute chewing [ 28 ]. At least, the urine was collected.…”