Oral injury and mouthguard usage by athletes in Japan

Abstract

The use of mouthguards in contact sports effectively prevents oral injury and preserves oral structures. We investigated oral injuries and awareness concerning mouthguards among Japanese high school soccer and rugby players. Athletes were asked a series of questions concerning their history of oral injury while participating in sports, and their pattern of mouthguard use was determined. The data were evaluated statistically using chi-square analysis. The incidence of oral injuries was 32.3% for soccer athletes and 56.5% for rugby athletes, with 0.8% and 24.1% of the respective groups having mouthguards. There were significant differences between the soccer and rugby groups (P < 0.001). Although 81.8% of soccer athletes thought mouthguards were unnecessary, only 26.2% of rugby athletes shared this opinion and there was a significant difference between the soccer and rugby groups. Many soccer athletes had insufficient knowledge about mouthguards and were not concerned about preventing oral injury, although it was in fact a common problem in their sport. Athletes as well as coaches must be made aware of the high risk of oral injury when playing soccer, rugby, and other contact sports.

Dental trauma and mouthguard awareness and use among contact and noncontact athletes in central India

“…Similar findings were reported among Japanese students in 1998: 43% of the students sustained orofacial injuries during sportspractices (8).…”

“…Previous studies showed enormous discrepancies in the awareness that mouthguard use prevents orofacial injuries. The reported rates of such awareness in other countries were 100% in Germany and Switzerland, 81.9% in Japan, 52.4% in Brazil, 27% in Israel, 82.8% in Nigeria, 44.1% in Turkey (8,(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). With the support of dentists and public health professionals, the risks of orofacial injury should be made known to athletes, parents, coaches, and school and college officials.…”

Spor Li̇sesi̇ Öğrenci̇leri̇ni̇n, Beden Eği̇ti̇mi̇ Öğretmenleri̇ni̇n Ve Di̇ş Heki̇mleri̇ni̇n Ağiz Koruyucular Hakkindaki̇ Düşünceleri̇

“…Ancak, dental yaralanmaya maruz kalan sporcuların bile sonrasında büyük çoğunluğunun ağız koruyucu kullanmadığı rapor edilmiştir 14 . Bu apereylerin kullanılmamasının nedenleri araştırıldığında rahat olmamaları, nefes almada ve konuşmada zorluk yaşanması olarak bildirilmiştir 15,16 .…”

Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Diş Hekimliği Fakültesi’ne Başvuran Adli Nitelikteki Olguların Dağılımı 1994-2006

“…Dentofasial yaralanmalar, difl hekimli¤inin ilgilendi¤i, ancak difl hekimleri için rutin tan› ve tedavi uygulamalar›n›n d›fl›nda kalan ve komplikasyon olas›l›¤› az›msan-mayacak boyutta olan durumlardand›r (5,6). Ayr›ca yüz ve difl yaralanmalar›, bafl-çene disfonksiyonu ya da skar dokusu nedeniyle estetik problemler yaratabilir (5).…”

“…Genel anestezi ya da baflka nedenlerle yap›lan entübas-yon ifllemleri, kontakt ya da non-kontakt sporlarda oluflan kazalar, darp, ateflli silah yaralanmalar›, düflme, trafik kazalar› ve hatal› operatif ifllemler dental travmalar›n ve çene kemiklerindeki k›r›klar›n belli bafll› nedenlerindendir (6,8,(9)(10)(11)(12). Çocukluk yafl grubunda dental travman›n en s›k etiyolojik sebepleri, düflme, trafik kazalar›, çarp›fl-ma ve sportif faaliyetlerdir (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26).…”