In the recent times,
preventive dentistry has emerged as the main focus of
dentistry. Awareness among sportsmen and various international
sport organizations has recognized the need of dentistry
in sports. Prevention of such injuries can be achieved
through proper patient education, diagnosis, treatment
of existing dental problems & designing custom made
mouthguards.
Types of orofacial injuries commonly observed in athletes
include injuries to the dentition, namely, fractured
or knocked out teeth, loosened teeth or teeth forced
out of position. Injuries resulting in dislocation or
fracture of jaws may be incurred due to direct impact
on jaws.
Contact sports like football, boxing, martial arts,
hockey and non contact sports like basketball, baseball,
bicycle riding, soccer, wrestling, racquetball, surfing
and skateboarding should be supplemented with protective
appliances like mouthguards.
Preventive solutions for orofacial
injuries can be enlisted as
1. Regular check up for any undiagnosed
problem that might cause an unexpected problem during
athletic event.
2. Completion of any ongoing dental treatment.
3. Use of mouthguard under professional dental guidance.
Mouthguards:
Mouthguards are readymade or custom made devices
fabricated in a way to provide maximum coverage over
all teeth. Usually they are adapted over maxillary teeth
unless indicated on mandibular teeth. Material used
for mouthguard must have shock absorbing properties.
According to various international organizations for
sports dentistry, material of choice for custom made
mouthguards is ethylene vinyl acetate.
Types of athletic mouthguards:
1. Stock: Has no individual fitting and is least desirable;
available at local sports stores.
2. Boil & bite: individual fitting attempted by
boiling material and adapting to individual teeth
and is less desirable; available at local sports stores.
Uneven distribution of material does not allow proper
fit and protection.
3. Custom made: The most preferred type. Fabricated
under proper guidance of a dentist, they are either
made in dental clinic or sent by the dentist to the
dental lab for custom fabrication with proper guidelines.
The advantage of a custom made mouthguard is its fit,
adapatability to individual speech requirements, customized
occlusion and no interference in breathing.
Custom made mouthguards: They are
designed according to the sport played, age of athlete
and history of any previous trauma. Eg: Boxing and
martial arts need mouthguards to be made keeping in
mind maximum exchange of oxygen and adequate airway
maintenance in unexpected events like nasal obstruction
due to blow on nose. Custom made mouthguards are further
classified according to the method of fabrication
as:
1. vaccum custom made by vaccum machines
2. pressure laminated custom made by pressure machines.
1. shock absorbing concussive forces
to lower jaw.
2. protection against neck injury.
3. distributing force of blow all over surrounding
teeth and gums.
4. adequate material thickness, maximum occlusal coverage.
A snugly fit customized mouthguard
when in place causes forward and downward movement of
movement of the jaw, opening the space between the glenoid
fossa and condylar head. Any impact to the lower jaw
reduces the possibility of direct impact of head of
condyle to the glenoid fossa, thereby decreasing impact
and forces to the entire temporal region.
Maintenance for mouthguards:
1. Store in hard, perforated case
2. Replace when signs of wearing out are evident.
3. Keep clean using toothbrush and water
4. Never keep in warm place or in hot water.
As a helmet will not hamper the ability
to drive a bike, likewise athletes should understand
that oral protection by way of properly fitted mouthguards
will not hamper their ability to perform. “Prevention
is better than cure”, says an old adage. This
holds true for orofacial injuries in sport events. Damage
due to lack of proper measures may lead to a range of
minor to major events having a long lasting impact on
patient’s oral as well as general health. We at
Smile Care share the responsibility of limiting orofacial
injuries for those sportspersons/athletes, maximizing
their potentials to excel as professionals.
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