title: Consensus statement: Oral health and elite sport performance.
abstract: While the research base is limited, studies have consistently reported poor oral health in elite athletes since the first report from the 1968 Olympic Games. The finding is consistent both across selected samples attending dental clinics at major competitions and more representative sampling of teams and has led to calls from the International Olympic Committee for more accurate data on oral health. Poor oral health is an important issue directly as it can cause pain, negative effects on appearance and psychosocial effects on confidence and quality of life and may have long-term consequences for treatment burden. Self-reported evidence also suggests an impact on training and performance of athletes. There are many potential challenges to the oral health of athletes including nutritional, oral dehydration, exercise-induced immune suppression, lack of awareness, negative health behaviours and lack of prioritisation. However, in theory, oral diseases are preventable by simple interventions with good evidence of efficacy. The consensus statement aims to raise awareness of the issues of oral health in elite sport and recommends strategies for prevention and health promotion in addition to future research strategies.
authors.affiliation: UCL Eastman Dental Institute, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LD, UK.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Needleman
authors.affiliation: UCL Eastman Dental Institute, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LD, UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ashley
authors.affiliation: UCL Eastman Dental Institute, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LD, UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute for Sport Exercise and Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute for Sport Exercise and Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loosemore
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute for Sport Exercise and Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Medici
authors.affiliation: UCL Eastman Dental Institute, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LD, UK.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Donos
authors.affiliation: KCL Dental Institute, London, UK.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.affiliation: Human Performance Lab, GlaxoSmithKline, Brentford, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: van Someren
authors.affiliation: KCL Dental Institute, London, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moazzez
authors.affiliation: 1] English Institute of Sport, Bath, UK [2] Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jaques
authors.affiliation: English Institute of Sport, Bath, UK.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Dental Practice, Marlow, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimmin
authors.affiliation: St Mary's University Twickenham, School of Sport, Health &Applied Science.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brewer
authors.affiliation: Dental Practice, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meehan
authors.affiliation: Past President, Academy for Sports Dentistry, Farmersville, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.affiliation: UCL Eastman Dental Institute, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LD, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Porter
mesh_terms: D056352:Athletes; D054874:Athletic Performance; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009909:Oral Health / Q000592:standards; D009910:Oral Hygiene