Oral Health in Athletes: Risks, Prevention, Management, and Education

Dear Colleagues,

Athletes across various sports and competitive levels experience diverse—and often underestimated—oral health problems. They are significantly more likely to suffer traumatic dental injuries resulting from direct blows, falls, or other physical contact common in certain sports. Temporomandibular disorders are also more prevalent among athletes, often caused by repeated jaw movements, clenching, stress, and occlusal overload. Dietary habits and lifestyle factors further contribute to these problems. Frequent consumption of sugar- and acid-containing sports drinks, high-carbohydrate diets, and dehydration increase the risk of dental caries and erosion. These oral health issues can not only compromise oral function but also negatively affect sports performance, focus, recovery, and overall quality of life. This Special Issue invites submissions of original clinical, epidemiological, and cross-sectional studies, systematic reviews, and case reports that advance the understanding of the prevalence, risk factors, and impact of oral diseases and dental trauma among athletes. Emphasis will be placed on evidence-based preventive strategies, including custom-made mouthguards, targeted educational interventions, and interdisciplinary collaboration between dentists, sports physicians, coaches, and other stakeholders. The ultimate goal is to improve both oral health and athletic performance through integrated, science-based approaches.

Dr. Antonija Tadin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Oral is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.