title: Paired maxillary and smaller mandibular mouthguard for rugby player with malalignment.
abstract: A rugby player who had frequently experienced soft tissue injuries while playing rugby and wearing a conventional custom-made mouthguard came to the hospital clinic. The patient had suffered traumatic soft tissue injuries such as lip lacerations and bite trauma. Severe crowding due to ectopic maxillary and mandibular canines was observed. In response to the patient's request for better protection, a set of maxillary and mandibular mouthguards was designed: one covering the entire maxillary dentition and the other the mandibular front teeth only. The mouthguards were to be worn simultaneously. In this paper, we describe how these mouthguards were fabricated and discuss the results. The patient has experienced no injury to the stomatognathic system, including the lips, for five seasons since he began wearing this set of mouthguards. This new pairing of mouthguards appears to offer sufficient protection against injury, despite severe malalignment. We believe that this new type of paired maxillary and mandibular mouthguards has the potential to reduce sports-related dental injuries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Dentistry, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomotaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Takaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kajima
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Keishiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Narimatsu
authors.forename: Michiyo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Konno
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Chieko
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.forename: Takamitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: Kwantae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishigami
mesh_terms: D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible; D009064:Mouth Protectors; D018677:Tooth Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ectopic canine; lip laceration; mouthguard; small mouthguard; soft tissue injury