JOURNAL ARTICLE
REVIEW
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Factors affecting sports-related orofacial injuries and the importance of mouthguards.

Sports Medicine 2014 June
Sports dentistry is one of the most recent and upcoming fields in dentistry. It includes mainly the prevention and management of sports-related orofacial injuries and associated oral diseases or traumas. The dentist can play a critical role in informing athletes, coaches, and patients and their parents about the importance of prevention, treatment, and diagnosis for orofacial injuries in sports. The most significant aspect in preventing sports-related orofacial injuries is wearing basic protective devices such as properly fitting helmets, face masks, and/or mouthguards. A properly fitted mouthguard prevents violent contact between the upper and lower dentition. According to the American Society for Testing and Materials, there are three types of mouthguards: custom-fabricated mouthguards, mouth-formed guards, and stock mouthguards. Essential properties of the various materials used in the manufacture of mouthguards include water absorption, density, and thickness as well as temperature transmission, energy absorption, and drawing strength (tensile strength) of custom-made mouthguards. Currently, a variety of materials is being used for mouthguards, most commonly polyvinyl acetate-polyethylene copolymer or ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer and polyvinyl chloride. Mouthguard use is significant for athletes, since dentists play an important role in the design and application of these in clinical practice. The purpose of this article is to review the importance of mouthguard use, the incidence and location of orofacial sports injuries, the risk factors for such injuries, and the types of mouthguards and their roles in the prevention of sports-related orofacial injuries.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app