Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Atatürk Üniversitesi Tıp Dergisi (Y. A. The Eurasian Journal of Medicine), cilt.1, sa.2, ss.1-37, 2024 (Scopus)
The aim of the present study was to examine the findings of the intraoral examinations of the 12-16 years old novice (control) and elite athletes across the winter sports branches which were alpine discipline skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, ski jumping, and ice hockey. Besides, the study aimed to determine the intra and inter group relationships by comparing the athletes salivary stress biomarker levels at pre-competition, during-match and post-competition stages. 91 athletes (71 elite, 20 novice) participated in our study. Oral health status of the athletes were evaluated. In addition, cortisol levels in the saliva samples obtained at pre-competition (rested before the competition), during-match (just before the start) and post-competition (competition endin moment) stages were measured. The data analyzed statistically with a significance level of 0.05. Ice hockey athletes were the most affected by untreated dental caries (27.3%). No signs of dental trauma caused by sports activities were found in the winter sports branches. Basic erosive wear examination (BEWE) scores of the ice hockey athletes were similar to the ski jumping athletes and lower than other groups (p=0.034). The mean cortisol values between sports branches were listed as; biathlon> snowboarding > alpine skiing> ice hockey > ski jumping (p<0.001). Test results of the winter sports athletes’ saliva samples revealed that their salivary stress levels migh vary in accordance with the sports branches and there was a negative relationship between the levels of salivar stress biomarkers in competitions and oral health. In winter sports activities, measures for improving oral health should be disseminated.
Keywords: bruxism, cortisol, dental trauma, oral health, stress, winter sports