Dental trauma and level of information: mouthguard use in different contact sports

Abstract  – The objective of the present work was to study the occurrence of dental trauma in different sports, as well as to check if athletes used mouthguard during sport activities, and knew the siginificance of its utilization. The professional and semi-professional athletes who practised contact sports were interviewed, and were analyzed to determine the occurrence of dental trauma during sport practice, as well as if the athletes used a mouthguard and knew its indication. Results showed a high rate of dental trauma in athletes compared to the general population. The majority of athletes also demonstrated little utilization of mouthguard, in spite of the information about usage during sports practices and a general knowledge of its uses.