Knowledge and Attitudes of Arizona High-School Coaches Regarding Oral-Facial Injuries and Mouthguard Use Among Athletes

Mouthguard BITES (Behavior, Impulsivity, Theory Evaluation Study): What Drives Mouthguard Use Among High School Basketball and Baseball/Softball Athletes

“…Several previously published studies have investigated barriers to mouthguard use, identifying a multitude of potential issues including construction (e.g., durability, cost, fit, comfort, and availability; DeYoung, Robinson, & Godwin, 1994; Gardiner & Ranalli, 2000), players’ perceptions of mouthguards (e.g., factors such as a lack of knowledge of injury risk or mouthguard effectiveness and concerns over decreased comfort, ability to communicate, and athletic performance; Berry, Miller, & Leow, 2005; DeYoung et al, 1994; Gardiner & Ranalli, 2000; Hawn, Visser, & Sexton, 2002; Maestrello-deMoya & Primosch, 1989; Morton & Burton, 1979), peer pressure, and the attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs of parents (Diab & Mourino, 1997; Gardiner & Ranalli, 2000; Pribble, Maio,& Freed, 2004; Walker, Jakobsen,& Brown, 2002), coaches (Berg et al, 1998; Gardiner & Ranalli, 2000; Hawn et al, 2002; Ranalli & Lancaster, 1995), and referees/officials (Gardiner & Ranalli, 2000; Hawn et al, 2002; Lancaster & Ranalli, 1993). Similar to previous studies, we found that overall, among both athletes who have a mouthguard but never wear it and athletes who do not have one and have made a decision not to wear one, the main reasons for not doing so were similar; that is, they were not required to wear one (65.3 %) and they felt they could not breathe or talk while wearing one (61.5 %).…”

“…Multiple behavioral and social factors play a role in adolescent athletes’ decision to wear a mouthguard to prevent sports-related dental injuries. Although adolescent athletes have an intense desire to participate in their sport, when given a choice they often fail to utilize protective equipment which can prevent time loss injuries (Berg, Berkey, Tang, Altman, & Londeree, 1998; Nowjack-Raymer & Gift, 1996). Adolescent athletes tend to rationalize their failure to use protective equipment by arguing their low risk of injury, the ineffectiveness of protective equipment, a concern that protective equipment will inhibit performance, and discomfort.…”

Knowledge and Attitudes of Coaches Regarding Sports Related Oro-Facial Injuries in Chennai, India

“…In a similar study by Lehl G, 40% of the coaches found the frequency of injury between1-5 [32]. Authors who found the frequency of injury due to non-use of protective devices were 82% by Lehl [32,33,34,35].…”

“…Rob Berg, et al found in his study that the most common injury was a cut lip, tongue or cheek (82.4%). He also suggested that this type of injury should be a cause for great concern, as they may represent a tooth-object impact in which significant tooth damage was avoided only fortuitously [35].…”

Dental Service in 2008 Summer Olympic Games

“…However, many sport dentists have pointed out that a large number of uncomfortable mouthguards were still used by athletes until now 19–21. Knowledge of making and using the mouthguards needs to be improved 22–24. Greater effort must be made to improve the comfort of mouthguards if their use is to be increased 25.…”