Prevalence of Soft Drink Consumption in Professional Athletes

Soft drinks are the most popular drinks among people and specially athletes who should consume them to balance the electrolytes in their body. Since the soft drinks have acids and sugar, they cause caries and erosion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of soft drinks consumption in professional athletes of international Olympic academy of Tehran.

Methods:

In this cross-sectional study 100 athletes participated, each of whom was given a questionnaire, the validity of which was tested in a pilot study. This questionnaire contained items addressing age, sex, the frequency of daily soft drinks consumption, type of soft drinks, oral hygiene method after drinking, oral hygiene method in a day, the number of dental visits per year, chewing xylitol containing gum, and consumption of dairy. Data were analyzed by descriptive tests.

Results:

100 athletes, 58 male and 42 female, participated in this study. 71% of the athletes had soft drinks consumption at least once daily. 53% consumed sweet snacks after exercising and 11% ate chocolate after it. While 44% drank milk, 70% had yoghurt at least once daily and 76% ate cheese with their breakfast. 29% of these athletes visited their dentist every 6 months whereas 12% visited once a year and 63% visited a dentist only when they felt it was needed. All of the participants brushed their teeth at least once a day of which 29% reported bleeding after brushing. 32% used xylitol chewing gum and 29 % consumed mouth wash. 28% had history of sensitivity after drinking hot or cold drinks. 22% had clenching during daily workout.

Conclusions:

According to our research, it is better to train and educate the athletes regarding the dental hygiene methods and preventive treatments. There is need to evaluate the caries prevalence of the professional athletes consuming soft drinks a lot.