Simple oral health steps help improve elite athletes’ performance

Elite athletes who adopted simple oral health measures, such as using high fluoride toothpaste and cleaning between their teeth, reported significantly reduced negative effects on performance related to poor oral health, finds a new study led by UCL. The research, published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine , is the latest in a series of studies led by the UCL Centre for Oral Health and Performance (COHP), based at UCL Eastman Dental Institute, which have found that elite athletes have substantial rates of oral disease, including tooth decay and gum inflammation, and these symptoms negatively affected their wellbeing and sporting performance. To help address this, researchers at UCL COHP designed a behavioural change programme aimed at better educating elite athletes about oral health and providing some simple interventions to improve their daily oral health routines. Explaining the study, lead author, Dr Julie Gallagher (UCL Eastman Dental Institute), said: "Poor oral health of elite athletes is common and is associated with negative performance. However, compared with other health and training pressures, oral health care is not a high priority in elite sport. "We therefore wanted to develop a programme which was aligned with the existing high-performance culture of the athletes and their teams. Underpinning the study was health behaviour psychology, which included education, self-motivation, goal setting, and an easy to use toolkit, ensuring the athletes had a readily available opportunity to improve." In total, 62 athletes from two Great Britain Olympic Teams, rowing and cycling, and one Premiership Rugby Club, Gloucester Rugby, were recruited to the study.