The Association Between Sports Nutrition and Hard Dental Tissue Disorders in Athletes: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/QS.2026.63.73079Keywords
sports nutrition, dental caries, enamel erosion, oral health, isotonic drinks, energy drinksAbstract
Sports nutrition may influence oral health, particularly through frequent consumption of acidic and sugar-containing products such as isotonic drinks, energy drinks, and carbohydrate supplements. This systematic review evaluated the relationship between sports nutrition and dental hard tissue disorders, mainly dental caries and enamel erosion, in amateur and professional athletes.
The reviewed studies suggest that athletes may be at increased risk of caries and enamel erosion due to the cariogenic and erosive potential of sports products. However, the evidence remains inconsistent, as oral health outcomes are also affected by factors such as salivary flow, hydration, fluoride exposure, oral hygiene, and remineralization capacity.
Sports nutrition should therefore be regarded as a modifying rather than a direct causative factor in oral diseases. Preventive education and interdisciplinary cooperation between dentists, physicians, and dietitians are important for reducing oral health risks in athletes. Further longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to clarify these relationships.
References
1. Gálvez-Bravo F, Edwards-Toro F, Contador-Cotroneo R, Opazo-García C, Contreras-Pulache H, Goicochea-Palomino EA, et al. Erosive potential of sports, energy drinks, and isotonic solutions on athletes’ teeth: A systematic review. Nutrients. 2025 Jan 23;17(3).
2. Antunes LS, Veiga L, Nery VS, Nery CC, Antunes LA. Sports drink consumption and dental erosion among amateur runners. J Oral Sci. 2017;59(4):639–43.
3. Mielle B, Júdice A, Proença L, Machado V, Vieira AM, Mendes JJ, et al. Dental Caries, Tooth Erosion and Nutritional Habits in a Cohort of Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients. 2025 Jan 31;17(3).
4. Nijakowski K, Zdrojewski J, Nowak M, Podgórski F, Surdacka A. Regular physical activity and dental erosion: A systematic review. Appl Sci. 2022 Jan 21;12(3):1099.
5. Kakouris V, Rahiotis C, Paximada C, Piagkou M. Systematic Review and Metanalysis of the in vitro Studies Examining the Erosive Effect of Energy Drinks Consumption on Dental Tissues. EJDENT. 2023 Jan 29;4(1):4–9.
6. Schulze A, Busse M. Sports diet and oral health in athletes: A comprehensive review. Medicina (Kaunas). 2024 Feb 13;60(2).
7. Khan K, Qadir A, Trakman G, Aziz T, Khattak MI, Nabi G, et al. Sports and Energy Drink Consumption, Oral Health Problems and Performance Impact among Elite Athletes. Nutrients. 2022 Nov 30;14(23).
8. Gambon DL. [Sports drinks and dental erosion]. Ned Tijdschr Tandheelkd. 2025 Oct 7;132(10):464–9.
9. Memon MA, Khan MA, Ahmad M, Tariq I, Younus K, Aleem B, et al. Sports Drinks and Dental Erosion: Unveiling the Evidence from a Systematic Review. Curr Oral Health Rep. 2025 Apr 17;12(1):11.
10. Tanabe G, Hasunuma T, Takeuchi Y, Churei H, Hayashi K, Togawa K, et al. Assessment of Exercise-Induced Dehydration Status Based on Oral Mucosal Moisture in a Field Survey. Dentistry Journal. 2024 Dec 25;13(1).
11. Beti MM, Garcia-Sanz V, Paredes-Gallardo V. 201 - The Effects of Sports Supplementation on Dental Health in Patients with orthodontic appliances. J World Fed Orthod. 2025 Dec;14(6):467.
12. Yip K, Lam PPY, Yiu CKY. Prevalence and Associated Factors of Erosive Tooth Wear among Preschool Children-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Mar 7;10(3).
13. Inchingolo F, Dipalma G, Azzollini D, Trilli I, Carpentiere V, Hazballa D, et al. Advances in preventive and therapeutic approaches for dental erosion: A systematic review. Dentistry Journal. 2023 Nov 29;11(12).
14. Nik Mohd Rosdy NMM, Mohd Amin NAS, Roslan N. Erosive potential and sugar content of popular beverages: A double whammy for dentition. Int J Dent. 2023 Feb 15;2023:9924186.
15. Theodoridis C, Menexes G, Topitsoglou V, Kalfas S. Tooth wear epidemiology and its associated periodontal health and sociodemographic factors in a cluster of senior citizens in northern greece. Dentistry Journal. 2022 Nov 18;10(11).
16. Bartlett D, O’Toole S. Tooth wear: best evidence consensus statement. J Prosthodont. 2020 Dec 17;
17. Sato T, Fukuzawa Y, Kawakami S, Suzuki M, Tanaka Y, Terayama H, et al. The onset of dental erosion caused by food and drinks and the preventive effect of alkaline ionized water. Nutrients. 2021 Sep 28;13(10).
18. Inchingolo AM, Malcangi G, Ferrante L, Del Vecchio G, Viapiano F, Mancini A, et al. Damage from Carbonated Soft Drinks on Enamel: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2023 Apr 6;15(7).
19. Favero R, Nicetto M, Barone M, Dorigotti A, Volpato A, Tosco V. Dental erosion in competitive swimmers and preventive treatments: an in vitro study. Dentistry Journal. 2024 Sep 11;12(9).
20. Rathee M, Sapra A. Dental Caries. StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026.
21. Meyer F, Schulze Zur Wiesche E, Amaechi BT, Limeback H, Enax J. Caries etiology and preventive measures. Eur J Dent. 2024 Jul;18(3):766–76.
22. Pitts NB, Zero DT, Marsh PD, Ekstrand K, Weintraub JA, Ramos-Gomez F, et al. Dental caries. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017 May 25;3:17030.
23. Chen X, Daliri EB-M, Kim N, Kim J-R, Yoo D, Oh D-H. Microbial etiology and prevention of dental caries: exploiting natural products to inhibit cariogenic biofilms. Pathogens. 2020 Jul 14;9(7).
24. Zhang JS, Chu C-H, Yu OY. Oral microbiome and dental caries development. Dentistry Journal. 2022 Sep 30;10(10).
25. Enax J, Fandrich P, Schulze Zur Wiesche E, Epple M. The Remineralization of Enamel from Saliva: A Chemical Perspective. Dentistry Journal. 2024 Oct 23;12(11).
26. Cena H, Calder PC. Defining a healthy diet: evidence for the role of contemporary dietary patterns in health and disease. Nutrients. 2020 Jan 27;12(2).
27. Vitale K, Getzin A. Nutrition and supplement update for the endurance athlete: review and recommendations. Nutrients. 2019 Jun 7;11(6).
28. Murray B, Rosenbloom C. Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes. Nutr Rev. 2018 Apr 1;76(4):243–59.
29. Piórecka B, Jamka-Kasprzyk M, Niedźwiadek A, Jagielski P, Jurczak A. Fluid Intake and the Occurrence of Erosive Tooth Wear in a Group of Healthy and Disabled Children from the Małopolska Region (Poland). Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Mar 4;20(5).
30. Doré A, Jacq R, Bas A-C. Athletes’ medical preventive behaviors: the case of oral health and ultraendurance trail runners. BMC Oral Health. 2024 Jul 11;24(1):777.
31. Schiffner U. [Use of fluorides for caries prevention]. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2021 Jul;64(7):830–7.
32. Zheng FM, Adiatman M, Chu CH, Crystal YO, Featherstone JD, Hoang TH, et al. Recommendations on topical fluoride usage for caries management in east asia. Int Dent J. 2024 Oct;74(5):910–6.
33. Farooq I, Bugshan A. The role of salivary contents and modern technologies in the remineralization of dental enamel: a narrative review. F1000Res. 2020 Mar 9;9:171.
34. Heshmat H, Ganjkar MH, Miri Y, Fard MJK. The effect of two remineralizing agents and natural saliva on bleached enamel hardness. Dent Res J (Isfahan). 2016;13(1):52–7.
35. Needleman I, Gallagher J, Ashley P. What do we know about elite athlete oral health? Br Dent J. 2026 Feb 27;240(4):217–22.
36. Júdice A, Botelho J, Machado V, Proença L, Ferreira LMA, Fine P, et al. Sports dentistry intricacies with season-related challenges and the role of athlete-centered outcomes. Front Oral Health. 2025 Feb 13;6:1531653.
37. Ganda JP, Pillay L, Plaatjies C, Ganda B, Mohammed U, Haughey J. Attitudes towards the role of sports dentistry in high-performance teams: A panel discussion. S Afr J SM. 2025 Oct 15;37(1):v37i1a24061.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Alicja Biskup, Agata Wnęk, Julia Smagowska, Ewa Kala-Kaziszyn, Aleksandra Gniewkiewicz, Zuzanna Hucała, Natasza Jankowska
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 47
Number of citations: 0
