Dental injuries occurring from 1979–1985 in Finland in 6 contact team sports (American football, bandy, basketball, team handball, ice hockey and soccer) were studied. A total of 23,395 accidents occurred among registered players; 1526 (6.5%) of these accidents affected the dental structures. Contact between players caused over half of the accidents and a blow from a stick every third accident. Crown fractures were the most common type of dental injury, occurring most often to the maxillary central incisors. In most accidents (58.6%) only one tooth was affected. The highest rate of incidence was found in ice hockey (8.9%) and the lowest in American football (1.4%). The low incidence in American football was due to adequate facial and dental protection that is mandatory in this sport.

Maxillofacial and dental injuries were studied in registered players of American football, bandy, basketball, and handball in Finland between 1979 and 1985. In American football, where facial protection is complete and mandatory, maxillofacial and dental accidents accounted for only 1.4% of all accidents. In bandy, where facial protection was inadequate during the time of study (only the helmet and extraoral mouth protector were mandatory), the respective figure was 10.6%. The most frequent causes of injury were a blow from another player (in American football, basketball, and handball) or a blow from the stick (in bandy). In American football, the mean cost of treatment related to maxillofacial and dental injuries was only 60% of the mean total cost of all injuries. In contrast, the mean cost of treatment for maxillofacial and dental injuries in basketball and bandy was twice and three times as high, respectively, as that for all injuries. The need for adequate facial protection in contact sports is also discussed.

The records were analyzed of 106 patients with sports-related dental traumas treated in 1983 at the public oral surgery unit in Helsinki, Finland; 51 were examined six years after injury. The mean age was 11.8 years (range 7-24 years). The woman/man ratio was 1:3. In 39% of cases, the injuries had arisen from ice hockey or skating; 30% happened during school hours; 80% were uncomplicated crown fractures, concussions or subluxations. During the six-year follow-up, of 80 teeth in 51 patients, root resorption was found in 6 teeth (7.5%), periapical lesions were noted in 2 teeth (2.5%), and obliteration of the pulp was seen in 4 teeth (5%). Three teeth (3.7%) had suffered loss of vitality. The pulp had been extirpated in 13 of the traumatized teeth (16%). In all, 13.7% of the patients were found to have complications six years later. The results showed that long follow-up periods are needed after dental injury.

Solitary fibrous tumour (SFT) is an uncommon mesenchymal neoplasm rarely located in the oral cavity. To characterize further oral SFT, we describe three new cases. Each tumour originated in the buccal mucosa of a middle-aged/elderly patient. Histological examination showed well-circumscribed tumours with densely cellular areas alternating with hypocellular areas in a variedly collagenous, vascular stroma. Mast cells were abundant. The spindle-shaped, neoplastic cells immunostained strongly for CD34 antigen and vimentin and weakly for bcl-2, but not for epithelial cell markers, alpha-smooth muscle actin, or neurofilament or S-100 proteins. Compatible with the virtual absence of mitoses and of marked nuclear atypia, the overall frequency of proliferating cells expressing Ki-67 was low. The expression of CD34 was useful in the differential diagnosis. The consistent location in the cheek and expansion of one tumour after local trauma does not preclude a traumatic element in the development of oral SFT.

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A mandatory use of mouthguards and face masks or tightened rules for protection to decrease the high number of maxillofacial and dental injuries in the ice hockey games should be considered.

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