Is there a relationship between oral health and muscle power performance in professional basketball athletes?

Abstract

Introduction: In the sports field, there is evidence that athletes can have their physical performance reduced due to a wide range of oral health problems. Despite the evidence about the relationship between aspects of oral health and explosive strength performance, little is known about its influence on the muscular power of high-performance basketball athletes. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between oral health status and muscle power performance in high-performance basketball athletes. Methods: Twelve adult male basketball players voluntarily took part in the study. The CPOD index was assessed to verify the oral health of the athletes and they were subjected to a countermovement vertical jump test to analyze muscle power. Spearman's correlation test was used to check the correlation between oral health and muscle power performance in basketball athletes. Results: Spearman's correlation showed that there is a negative and strong correlation between jumping performance and the CPO-D value in high-performance basketball athletes (r=-0.721; p= 0.004). Conclusion: We conclude that the lower the CPO-D value, the better the jumping performance of basketball athletes, and this reinforces the importance of assessing oral health in high-performance athletes.