Attitudes and opinions towards the prevention of orofacial injuries among water polo coaches in Catalonia: A cross-sectional study

Faculty of sports science students, physical education teachers, and athletes' level of knowledge and attitude about mouthguards

OBJECTIVES

Traumatic dental injury occurs during sports competitions, training, and practice and can be prevented by the use of mouthguards. For this reason, this study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of sports science faculty students, physical education teachers, and athletes about mouthguards.

METHODS

Five hundred thirty-two participants were reached via social media. In the questionnaire consisting of 20 questions, questions about the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were asked in part 1, and questions about their level of knowledge and attitudes about the mouthguards were asked in part 2. Descriptive statistical analysis and a chi-square test were used to evaluate the data.

RESULTS

The number of people who think that mouthguards protect the athlete from traumatic dental injury is 381 (71.6%). The number of people who think that mouthguards affect the performance of the athlete is positively 228 (42.9%). To protect against traumatic dental injury, 51.48% of the participants preferred the custom-made; 39.3% of them preferred the boil-bite; 33.22% of them preferred the standard/stock type mouth guard; and 22.96% of them preferred the helmet, and 18.26% of them preferred the face mask.

CONCLUSIONS

The knowledge and attitude of sports science faculty students, physical education teachers, and athletes are low about mouthguards. Since these people who are engaged in sports have a high exposure to traumatic dental injuries, education should be given to increase their awareness about mouthguards.

Knowledge of traumatic dental injuries and mouthguard behavior among Croatian soccer players

OBJECTIVES/AIM

Sports-related dental injuries occur frequently among athletes due to inadequate knowledge and prevention measures. The aim of the study was to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices of active soccer players from all leagues in Croatia regarding traumatic dental injuries and the use of mouthguards.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

393 respondents completed a questionnaire-based online survey from March 2022 to April 2022. The questionnaire consisted of 37 questions divided in four sections: demographic characteristics, experience with orofacial injuries, knowledge of emergency therapeutic procedures for dental injuries, and behaviors related to the use of a mouthguard.

RESULTS

Insufficient knowledge was confirmed by a total score of 2.8 ± 2.8 points, with a possible maximum of 11. Respondents' better knowledge can be associated with educational level (p = .002), playing position (p = .046), and personally experienced injuries to the face and jaw (p ≤ .001) and teeth (p = .022). Less than 40% of respondents suffered facial and jaw injuries while playing football and 18.6% suffered dental injuries. Although most respondents (93.9%) were familiar with mouthguards and 68.9% believed that they help prevent injuries while playing football, only 16% used them.

CONCLUSION

The study revealed significant gaps in knowledge regarding dental injuries and the practice of mouthguard usage among Croatian soccer players. Therefore, it is evident that additional education is needed to prevent dental injuries and take proper procedures when taking care of them among the examined population.

Knowledge and Self-Assessment of Dental Injuries and Oral Health among Croatian Professional Water Polo Players: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVES/AIM

The purpose of this study was to evaluate oral health knowledge, and the incidence of self-reported dental injuries incidence, the frequency of mouthguard use, oral hygiene habits, and oral health status among professional water polo players.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

During the 2022/2023 season, 114 water polo players from the Croatian First League participated in a questionnaire-based online survey. The data collected included sociodemographic and professional attributes, oral health knowledge questions, dental injury experiences, and practices related to mouthguard use. Respondents also rated their own oral health status and oral hygiene habits. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a regression analysis.

RESULTS

The respondents demonstrated inadequate knowledge of oral health, with a mean score of 6.4 ± 2.6 out of 12. Better knowledge correlated positively with older age (p ˂ 0.05) and consistent flossing (p = 0.014). Additionally, 27.2% (31 of 114) of reported dental injuries were related directly to incidents which occurred while participating in water polo. These injuries occurred more frequently during games (54.8%) and often involved the anterior maxillary incisors (71.0%) due to player contact (87.1%). Awareness of mouthguards was high (93.9%), whereas their actual use was low (7.0%) because 35.1% of respondents reported discomfort wearing them. The respondents' self-assessments revealed widespread dental problems, including tooth sensitivity (13.3%), erosion (15.8%), calculus (28.1%), and pigmentation (7.9%).

CONCLUSIONS

The research results indicate a lack of adequate knowledge among the respondents regarding oral health. This deficit was not associated with oral hygiene habits or oral cavity conditions. These findings highlight the disparities in oral health awareness and practices associated with water polo participation and emphasize the importance of education and prevention efforts.

Sports mouthguard overview: Materials, fabrication techniques, existing standards, and future research needs

Sports mouthguards are proven devices that reduce both the probability of and damage to orofacial tissues. While commonly used, clinicians may be unaware of the different sports mouthguard materials, proposed fabrication techniques, design recommendations, and newer digital fabrication methods. An overview of existing sports mouthguard standards is presented. It identifies that identify that the present requirements, while historically chosen in good faith, appear to be arbitrarily selected and not from clinical evidence-based derived data. In addition, identified sports mouthguard heterogeneous testing and data acquisition methods distinguishes that little possibility is afforded for the correlation of results. Furthermore, updated evidence with concussion prevention and/or alleviation is presented with evidence provided by sports mouthguard imbedded technology. The need for continued research is stressed to provide evidence-based data for concussion alleviation/prevention, digital fabrication methods and materials, and clinically based information for the revision of existing standards.

Awareness of sports-related dental emergencies and prevention practices among Libyan contact sports coaches: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Despite the high incidence rate of dental trauma and its possible devastating physical and psychological consequences on children, little is known about sport-related dental trauma and its prevention and management among Libyan sports coaches. The present study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of Benghazi contact sports coaches regarding sport-related dental trauma and its prevention and management.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was used. Two hundred and thirty-one contact sports coaches were recruited from different public and private youth sports centers across Benghazi. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire translated into Arabic and piloted to evaluate its validity and clarity. In addition, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and χ 2 tests were used to check associations between the variables.

RESULTS

A total of 151 contact sports coaches returned a completed questionnaire; the majority of coaches (74%) have seen orofacial injuries during their coaching career, whereas less than half of them (47%) personally experienced these injuries. Only one participant said he would preserve the tooth in milk, and four indicated that they would replant it. Most coaches (89.4%) knew what a mouthguard is, but 53.6% would recommend its use, and these were more likely to have previously used mouthguards (p ≤ 0.001). About 41.1% received previous training on TDIs-related emergencies. Higher knowledge scores were observed among coaches who previously received training (p = 0.023).

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study indicate low awareness of how to manage and prevent orofacial injuries among Libyan contact sports coaches, even though they commonly encounter these injuries and believe in mouthguards' effectiveness. Previous training on managing emergencies and experience appeared to influence the coaches' knowledge. Training coaches on preventing TDIs and their early management in sports fields should be an implemented policy and a prerequisite to obtaining a training license.