ABSTRACT
Tooth injuries are frequently associated with sports injuries. Most of them could be minimized or prevented by the use of a mouthguard. The present study investigated the occurrence of tooth injuries and the attitude of athletes of Bernese sports clubs towards mouthguards, by means of a questionnaire and clinical examination. A total of 172 out of 200 athletes from six sports clubs, who were contacted directly at the sports fields, returned the questionnaire. Fifty of them owned a mouthguard (= 29.1%) and 54 reported having suffered dental trauma. The majority of athletes did not wear a mouthguard, despite acknowledging its usefulness. Even after a dental injury, the rate of mouthguard-acceptance increased just marginally; only 38.9% of all injured athletes were wearing a mouthguard after dental trauma. Most of the athletes had not considered wearing a mouthguard at all. For many of them, impairment of speech and breathing and discomfort were reasons not to wear a mouthguard. Of the 54 reported athletes with dental trauma, 48 were examined clinically. The upper central incisors were by far the most frequently injured teeth. The clinical examination used an injury severity index (NIDR-Index, National Institute of Dental Research) ranging from grade 0 (no visible damage), to grade 6 (loss of tooth). The most common finding was grade 4 (injuries that were treated by reconstruction). In conclusion there is a need to optimize information for athletes concerning mouthguards and sports injuries. Providing such information is not only the responsibility of coaches and trainers, but also of dentists.
