# Regular Physical Activity and Dental Erosion: A Systematic Review
## 4 Discussion
(2019) evaluated whether regular consumption of sports drinks was associated with dental erosion among athletes from the Ohio State University. A total of 91.8% of the participants regularly consumed sports drinks, and most of them drank at least a litre a day. The prevalence of tooth erosion was found to be 36.5%, of which 75.2% represented enamel erosion. The occlusal surfaces of the mandibular first permanent molar were the most often affected by erosive lesions. Additional hypersensitivity was reported by 12.9% of the athletes. Among the consumers of sports drinks, 36% demonstrated dental erosion. The authors showed no significant correlation between the consumption of sports beverages and the severity of erosion lesions. Additionally, multiple regression analyses confirmed no association between the occurrence of dental erosion and the use of sports drinks, including the quantity and frequency of consumption, brand name, years of usage, and home use of sports drinks. Our recent study [37] aimed to determine the risk factors for erosive lesions in young sports professionals. The sample involved 155 students from Athletic Championship High School in Poznan, Poland. The participants were drawn to the study group from classes with a sports profile, and to the control group from the others, who did not declare regular physical activity. Based on the BEWE index, the presence of erosion lesions was found in 59.8% of the athletes and only in 22.6% of the controls. According to multivariate logistic regression, practising in water sports (including swimming) increased the odds of erosion occurrence by 14 times. Moreover, consumption of mainly water instead of isotonic drinks during exercise reduced the odds of erosive lesions by 70%, and sports nutrition increased the odds by almost four times. The indicated relationships were confirmed by multivariate correspondence analysis. We proposed a model to predict the risk of dental erosion in physically active adolescents based on the type of practised sport and their drinking habits during training sessions. Some studies also identified and compared the incidence of tooth erosion in team sports. [PERSON] et al. [36] evaluated oral health in a representative group of professional football players in the UK. The cross-sectional study was performed in eight football clubs: five Premier League, two Championship, and one League One. One hundred eighty-seven footballers were recruited and represented above 90% of each senior team. Although almost three-quarters of them declared a previous dental check-up within the past 12 months, the oral health status was poor. A total of 36.9% of the players demonstrated active dental caries, 53.1% dental erosion, and 5% at least moderate periodontal disease. The most advanced erosion defects (grades 2-3 according to BEWE) were observed on the anterior teeth in about 20% of the cases, and a similar amount were on posterior teeth. Only 7.1% of the football players reported drinking sports beverages less than once a week. In contrast, 23.1% consumed isotonic drinks more than six times a week. The authors found no correlation between the sports drink consumption frequency and the occurrence or severity of dental erosion. Furthermore, [PERSON] et al. [31] assessed the oral health status (e.g., erosive tooth wear, dental caries) in a representative sample of UK elite athletes from different sports. They recruited 352 athletes representing 11 sports disciplines, including 50 in the strength and power category, 143 in the endurance category, and 159 in the mixed category (in total, eight questionnaires were not returned). Dental caries (defined as ICDAS code \(\geq\)3) was observed in 49.1% of the athletes and erosive tooth wear (defined as BEWE score \(\geq\)7) in 41.4%. For both mentioned diseases of the hard tissues of teeth, the odds of their development were about twice as high for team sports than endurance sports. Erosive lesions were found most frequently in football players (73.1%), and least frequently in sailors and rowers (each 26.7%).