We promote oral health in sport to enhance the performance, overall health and wellbeing of athletes. We engage in high-quality, cross-cutting research.
We have been awarded recognition by the International Olympic Committee as an IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health as part of the collaborative bid with the ISEH and the National Centre for Sport Exercise and Health for the next four years.
- Latest news
Update: December 2019
Infographic: Nutrition and Oral Health in Sport: In Sport Time for Action
This provides a useful summary of the risks to oral health from participation in sport and consumption of sports supplements, along with appropriate preventive measures. Print it off and use as a handout or poster. Huge thanks to Dr Alan Rankin, Northern Ireland Sports Medicine Institute for the creativity. Download our infographic
Research: Oral Health-related Behaviours Reported by Elite and Professional Athletes
In August, we published the results of our study exploring athlete-reported oral health behaviours that add to the risk of oral diseases and those that can mitigate those risks. Read moreWe were delighted with the global press coverage that accompanied its publication including on BBC News, in The Times, Guardian, Newsweek and the New York Post. It was one of the top-shared articles published in the last 12 months, as part of the BDJ Big Impact Collection We were also pleased to see the research referenced in Runner’s world magazine Professor Paul Ashley travelled to the Basem Winter Conference in Glasgow to share some of the results.
Podcast: Let’s Get Running
Let’s Get Running Podcast is run by international endurance runner and coach Shaun Dixon. Professor Needleman was interviewed to raise awareness about oral health and performance in recreational athletes. Listen nowInternational Sports Science and Sports Medicine Conference, 3-5 September, Newcastle, UK
It was a great privilege to be invited to this annual meeting organised by the distinguished sports medicine scientist Professor Ron Maughan, St Andrew’s University. The meeting is deliberately a small forum to generate lively and open debate and discussion over three days.1st Symposium on Oral Health In Elite Sport, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 24 August 2019
Professor Ian Needleman presented in this new initiative between the University of Malaya Dental and Sports Medicine Institutes with the support of the Ministry of Sport. It was a particular pleasure to share a platform with the Malaysian Paralympian, Ahmad Solihim (below). We wish him a very successful build-up to Tokyo 2020.COHP is also collaborating with the University on a study of oral health in elite athletes.British Society for Oral and Dental Research, 3-5 September, Leeds, UK
Both Julie Gallagher and Hesham Metabdin enjoyed their visit to this city and presented their research at this international conference.
1st Symposium on Sports Dentistry, International Association of Sports Dentistry (IASD), Leipzig, Germany, 23 November 2019
COHP was delighted to support the IASD with a presentation by Professor Ian Needleman at this meeting. The event brought together a multidisciplinary group of experts in sports medicine, trauma, exercise physiology and oral health. We wish the IASD great success for the future.
British Student Elective
We were delighted to welcome dental student Morgan Rees to the COHP for a couple of days in the summer as part of his student elective into oral health in sport. Morgan has also been involved in supporting our dentists when they provide oral health screening for elite athlete teams. Read moreOral Health Screening Should be Embedded in Athlete Health and Wellbeing
We are pleased to have provided oral health screening for elite teams in the run up to important competitions.International Olympic Committee Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness, Monaco, March 2020
The COHP has been successful in achieving acceptance of three research presentations and two workshops. Competition for acceptance of workshops is high with several hundred applications submitted.Congratulations on Your Achievements
Well done to all the athletes and teams with whom we have been involved during this past year: Gloucester rugby, England rugby, GB cycling, GB rowing, GB swimming.
- Meet the team
- Dr Ian Needleman
BDS, MSc, PhD, MRDRCS(Eng), FDSRCS(Eng), FFPH, FHEA
Ian is Professor of Restorative Dentistry and Evidence-Based Healthcare at UCL Eastman Dental Institute and Honorary Consultant in Periodontology with UCLH. He is a clinical specialist in periodontics at UCL and at PerioLondon and an Editor with the Cochrane Oral Health Group. His research interests are oral health in elite sport, improving clinical outcomes and the impact of oral health on general health, wellbeing and performance.Prof Paul AshleyBDS PhD FDS (Paed) FHEA
Paul is academic lead of the Paediatric Dentistry Unit at UCL Eastman Dental Institute and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry with UCLH. He is a Clinical Advisor for the Cochrane Oral Health Group and his research interests include diagnosis and management of caries in children and adults.He has collaborated with Ian on the research programme in oral health and sport with recent publications including a review of oral health and sport in the British Journal of Sports Medicine
Dr Julie GallagherBDS, MSc, PGCE, PhD
Julie completed her PhD “Oral health of elite athletes and impact on performance” in March 2020 and has stayed with the team as an honorary research fellow. Julie also contributes to the Eastman Sports Dentistry MSc course as an occasional lecturer and regularly supervises research projects for students on the Eastman MSc Restorative Dental Practice course. Julie is a keen recreational triathlete, participating in events both in the UK and abroad.Hesham MatabdinBDS, M.Sc
PhD Researcher Hesham Matabdin gained an interest in saliva and dental pellicle research after completing his M.Sc in Oral Biology from the Queen Mary, University of London in 2013. He had been lecturing dental undergraduate students before he became a member of the COHP as a PhD student at UCL Eastman Dental Institute in 2018. His current research involves assessing the potential of the salivary dental pellicle to prevent against dental erosion in elite athletes. Hesham is a general dental practitioner, a keen archer and swimmer.