Dental status and electromyography indicators of masticatory muscles in young people doing physical activities with weights

BACKGROUND: High emotional and physical loads of athletes, especially during the preparation for competitions with the use of weights, have an impact on individual human organs and tissues and are not fully understood at present. Against the background of exhausting and prolonged loads, especially in athletes working with weights, dental anomalies are more common, caries and non-carious lesions of teeth, inflammatory periodontal diseases, injuries of the maxillofacial region are also at a higher level. Recent studies have revealed that such behavioral factors lead to a higher risk of oral diseases. This is explained by the impact of odontogenic foci of chronic infection on systemic immunity and leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of sports achievements, and also proves the importance of timely monitoring and evaluation of the dental status of this population group, carrying out basic and additional methods of diagnosis of dental diseases, prevention and treatment.

AIM: This study assessed the dental status and electromyography indicators of the masticatory muscle group in individuals doing physical activities with weights.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 115 young men aged 25–35 years were examined. Of these, 70 young people were actively involved in physical exercises (bodybuilding, powerlifting, and weightlifting), and 45 did not play sports. Examination data, questionnaire responses, and results of additional examination methods were evaluated. An index assessment of the state of the oral cavity was given. Electromyography made it possible to evaluate the functional state of the dentition. Indicators of the most common dental diseases of both groups, such as caries, periodontitis, dentoalveolar anomalies, enamel chipping, abnormal abrasion, sensitive dentin, and wedge-shaped defect are identified. A structural analysis of the data obtained from both groups was carried out.

RESULTS: Analysis of electromyographic data showed that the background activity of the masticatory muscles in a state of functional tension — chewing on the right and left — is asymmetric and inconsistent (795.3±1.2 and 710.2±1.8, respectively). Indices of the prevalence of caries in the athlete group are localized mainly in people engaged in weightlifting (89.4%±2.5%); periodontal diseases, dentoalveolar anomalies, and enamel chipping in powerlifting representatives (71.3%±1.5%, 34.8%±1.2%, and 25.1%±3.5%, respectively); diseases of hard tissues of the teeth (sensitive dentin) in bodybuilders (36.1%±2.6%), pathological abrasion and wedge-shaped defect in representatives of powerlifting (18.2%±2.1% and 27.6%±1.6%).

CONCLUSIONS: The indices of dental morbidity, index assessment, and electromyographic study of the chewing muscles of athletes involved in weights were higher than that in the group of people not engaged in sports. The overall effect of training leads to functional disorders of the temporomandibular joint and masticatory muscles, higher rate of acquired dental hard tissue defects, caries, and periodontal inflammation.