Correlation Between the Oral Microbiota and Sports Practice: A Systematic Review

The impact of sports on oral health has been the subject of extensive investigation, with the majority of studies indicating a deterioration in oral health. However, the composition of the oral microbiota in athletes and its impact remains unclear. The objective of this review is to investigate the potential correlation between athletic activity and alterations in the oral microbiota. A comprehensive electronic search was conducted up to November 2024 across three different databases (PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Scopus) with the objective of identifying studies that evaluate the association between oral microbiota and physical activity. Two independent blinding review authors were involved in study selection, data extraction, and bias assessment using the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) study quality assessment tools. A total of 147 records were screened, and five eligible studies were included. Recent studies have demonstrated that individuals who engage in regular physical activity exhibit distinctive oral microbial composition in comparison to those with sedentary lifestyles or low levels of physical activity. Three studies have demonstrated that the athlete's oral microbiota is modified, with an increase in the genera Rothia, Stenotrophomonas, and Veillonella, and a decrease in the genus Gemella. The Streptococcus genus is often modified in athletes according to four studies. This review provided an analysis of the scientific evidence indicating that the oral microbiota of athletes is modified. But to date, there is no scientific evidence to clearly determine the impact of sports on these variations. More homogeneous studies with the limitation of bias are needed to better understand the link between sports and oral microbiota.