Dental health and body mass index among Special Olympics Athletes

Objectives: Special Olympics (SO) provides a unique opportunity for SO athletes to undergo interdisciplinary health screenings - Special Smiles (SS), health promotion (HP), Opening eyes, Healthy hearing and Fit feet, and contributes to the world's largest health database on people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Data extracted from SS and HP have been linked to determine the association between dental status and body mass index (BMI), for a stronger health message to SO athletes and their accompanying coaches/carers for better oral and general health behaviours and outcomes.
Methods: At the National SO Games (2014), three volunteer dentists screened consenting SO athletes (n= 116; 15 – 57 years old). Dental status (recorded using WHO criteria) measured the number of decayed (D), missing (M), filled (F) teeth and caries experience (DMFT>0). BMI was measured by volunteer sports dieticians and categorized as underweight (<18.5), normal (18.5-24.9), overweight (25.0– 29.9) and obese (≥30).
Results: The prevalence of decayed teeth was 16% and the mean DMFT was 4.0. About 40% of SO athletes had one or more missing and filled teeth. Less than a third of the SO athletes had normal weight (31%), and the rest were overweight (40%) or obese (27%). One was underweight. Missing teeth and caries experience were significantly associated with higher BMI (χ2, p<0.05).
Conclusions: The prevalence of untreated decay among SO athletes was lower than the general population. However, this population who represent younger, healthier, higher functioning people with ID, had significantly higher BMI than the general population. A more efficient common risk factor approach that targets both dental caries and obesity simultaneously should be adopted to improve the oral health and general health of SO athletes and the larger, more vulnerable population of people with ID.