title: Dental trauma and mouthguard awareness and use among contact and noncontact athletes in central India.
abstract: We investigated the associations of mouthguard awareness and use with the rate and type of orofacial trauma during sports activities among professional athletes. In this cross-sectional study of athletes aged 12 to 22 years who trained for participation in national and international competitions, data were collected by using a questionnaire and a clinical examination that included an index of dental injury. There were significant differences in mouthguard awareness and use and injury rates, i.e., athletes who did not wear mouthguards had more injuries. Traumatic injuries to teeth were significantly more frequent among contact athletes (15; 9%) than among noncontact athletes (4; 2.5%). Limited mouthguard awareness could be due to lack of information and education on dental injuries and their prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Dentistry, People's Dental Academy, People's University.
authors.forename: Vidhatri
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tiwari
authors.forename: Vrinda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.forename: Utkarsh
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tiwari
authors.forename: Aishwarya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Siddana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goud
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000293:injuries; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000293:injuries; D009064:Mouth Protectors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D019876:Sports Equipment; D018677:Tooth Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult