Indicators of dental status in professional sportswomen

Objective. To study the indicators of the dental status in professional athletes.

Materials and methods. The object of the study was 200 professional female athletes representing various kinds of sport and 200 practically healthy female individuals who are not involved in sports. The total sports experience of the subjects was on average 13–15 years. The prevalence of periodontal diseases among female athletes was determined using the CPITN index. The prevalence and intensity of caries was determined by the CPI index. The hygienic state of the oral cavity was determined using the oral hygiene efficiency index (PHP). In the main group, patients were administered applications of a drug based on propolis and vegetable oil for two weeks; in the comparison group, the traditional antiseptic, chlorhexidine bigluconate, was used for the same period.

Results. In the control group, the prevalence of chronic generalized gingivitis was on average two times less than in the main group, in which the value of this indicator varied within 50 %. Among all the studied diseases of the oral cavity in athletes in general, the most essential and significant differences were observed in relation to the prevalence of dental caries and its complications, which were more common in the group of athletes than in the control group – 95.0 ± 1.54 %, versus 89.5 ± 2.17 %, respectively (p < 0.001). The need for treatment of moderate and severe inflammatory periodontal diseases in the main group was approximately 1.5 times higher than in the control group (77.0 ± 2.98 vs. 42.5 ± 3.50 %, p < 0.001), and for gingivitis almost 2 times higher than in the control group (61.5 ± 3.44 vs. 39.0 ± 3.45 %, p < 0.001). The results of the study showed that among the oral diseases in sportswomen, the most essential and significant differences were observed in the prevalence of dental caries and its complications. The intensity of periodontal tissue damage over the entire period of sports career in athletes of the older age group corresponded to moderate and severe periodontitis. The high percentage of cases of major dental diseases detected among female athletes indicates their high need for periodontal care.

Conclusions. Regular use of a biologically neutral propolis-based preparation for preventive purposes leads to a relatively more pronounced improvement in laboratory and clinical indicators of the oral cavity status.