Social Habits, Oral Hygiene Practices, and Hydration in Athletes

Abstract

Introduction: Social habits, oral health and lifestyle are important, not only from the perspective of sport development, but also from public health. Objectives: To investigate social habits, oral hygiene practices, and hydration in athletes. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, survey study was conducted of 647 athletes from different sports disciplines. The variables researched were as follows: sports practiced, consumption of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, smoking, mouth-breathing habit, use of medicines, oral hygiene practices, and intake of water, isotonic and energy drinks. Results: Of the total athletes, 313 (48.53%) breathed through their mouths during sports practice, 381 (58.89%) did not drink soft drinks, 618 (95.52%) did not smoke, and 98 (15.15%) consumed alcoholic beverages at least twice a week. The majority (85.63%) drank only water, while 138 (21.33%) consumed energy drinks during exercise. The highest proportion of athletes trained between 3 and 5 days a week (67.08%), for 2 to 4 hours a day (76.05%). Dental floss was not used by 212 (32.77%) athletes. The use of medicines was reported by 114 athletes (17.62%), and majority of these medicines were medically prescribed. The majority of athletes reported been unaware of the fact that the medicines could be doping. Conclusions: A large portion of the athletes had mouth-breathing habit during sports practice, and although all of them performed tooth brushing, a considerable number lacked knowledge regarding the use of dental floss. The consumption of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, use of medicines, and smoking was low.