Sports diet and oral health in athletes: a comprehensive review. Antina Schulze and Martin Busse. Abstract: Food and fluid supply is essential for optimal athletic performance but can also be a risk factor for caries, dental erosion, and periodontal diseases, which can impair athletic performance. Many studies have reported a high prevalence of oral diseases in elite athletes, including dental caries (20–84%), dental erosion (42–59%), gingivitis (58–77%), and periodontal disease (15–41%), caused by frequent consumption of sugars/carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fats, or deficient protein intake. Three major reasons for poor oral health in athletes are addressed: oxidative stress, sports diet, and oral hygiene. The review summarizes potential sports nutritional effects on athletes' dental health. Overall, a sports diet appropriately applied to deliver benefits for performance associated with oral hygiene requirements is necessary to ensure athletes' health. The aim is to help athletes, dentists, and nutritionists understand the connections between sports diet, oral health, and oral healthcare to develop mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of dental diseases due to nutrition. Keywords: sports diet; athletes; oral health; caries; periodontitis; nutrition; dental health. The athlete should be aware of the risks associated with a sports-specific diet, especially concerning the health status of the oral cavity. Alterations and oral diseases negatively impact general health, well-being, and physical performance. Nutrition is of major importance in managing and enhancing athletic performance and post-workout nutritional recommendations are fundamental for recovery and adaptive processes. Low-energy intakes can result in a loss of muscle mass, weak bone structure, hormonal dysfunction, performance drop, and increased risk of injuries. During times of high physical activity, carbohydrate and protein intake is particularly important to control body weight and to maximize training effects, glycogen storage, muscle gain, and tissue repair. At the same time, sports nutrition can have a major impact on oral health due to increased consumption of sports drinks, energy bars, and gels. Increased intake, frequent consumption moments with dental exposure to carbohydrate-rich foods, free sugars, sports nutrition products, and acidic and carbohydrate-containing sports drinks increase the risk of dental erosion, dental caries, and inflammatory periodontal disease, especially in cases of dehydration and poor oral hygiene. A contemporary lifestyle with suboptimal nutritional quantity and quality contribute to an increased risk of tooth decay, meanwhile synthetically produced foods are of particular concern. Untreated caries and deep cavities can trigger a disseminated infection, affecting the well-being and performance of athletes. Dental pain has been described as the cause of up to 18% of loss of performance. In particular, elite athletes with a weakened immune system and high cortisol levels due to stress, demand, and overload, in combination with additional dental and/or periodontal inflammation, are at risk. Teeth can be seen as the window toSports diet and oral health in athletes: a comprehensive review. Antina Schulze and Martin Busse. Abstract: Food and fluid supply is essential for optimal athletic performance but can also be a risk factor for caries, dental erosion, and periodontal diseases, which can impair athletic performance. Many studies have reported a high prevalence of oral diseases in elite athletes, including dental caries (20–84%), dental erosion (42–59%), gingivitis (58–77%), and periodontal disease (15–41%), caused by frequent consumption of sugars/carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fats, or deficient protein intake. Three major reasons for poor oral health in athletes are addressed: oxidative stress, sports diet, and oral hygiene. The review summarizes potential sports nutritional effects on athletes' dental health. Overall, a sports diet appropriately applied to deliver benefits for performance associated with oral hygiene requirements is necessary to ensure athletes' health. The aim is to help athletes, dentists, and nutritionists understand the connections between sports diet, oral health, and oral healthcare to develop mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of dental diseases due to nutrition. Keywords: sports diet; athletes; oral health; caries; periodontitis; nutrition; dental health. The athlete should be aware of the risks associated with a sports-specific diet, especially concerning the health status of the oral cavity. Alterations and oral diseases negatively impact general health, well-being, and physical performance. Nutrition is of major importance in managing and enhancing athletic performance and post-workout nutritional recommendations are fundamental for recovery and adaptive processes. Low-energy intakes can result in a loss of muscle mass, weak bone structure, hormonal dysfunction, performance drop, and increased risk of injuries. During times of high physical activity, carbohydrate and protein intake is particularly important to control body weight and to maximize training effects, glycogen storage, muscle gain, and tissue repair. At the same time, sports nutrition can have a major impact on oral health due to increased consumption of sports drinks, energy bars, and gels. Increased intake, frequent consumption moments with dental exposure to carbohydrate-rich foods, free sugars, sports nutrition products, and acidic and carbohydrate-containing sports drinks increase the risk of dental erosion, dental caries, and inflammatory periodontal disease, especially in cases of dehydration and poor oral hygiene. A contemporary lifestyle with suboptimal nutritional quantity and quality contribute to an increased risk of tooth decay, meanwhile synthetically produced foods are of particular concern. Untreated caries and deep cavities can trigger a disseminated infection, affecting the well-being and performance of athletes. Dental pain has been described as the cause of up to 18% of loss of performance. In particular, elite athletes with a weakened immune system and high cortisol levels due to stress, demand, and overload, in combination with additional dental and/or periodontal inflammation, are at risk. Teeth can be seen as the window to