Mouthguard use and attitudes regarding dental trauma among elite cross-country mountain biking and field hockey athletes.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Cross-country mountain biking and field hockey are two Olympic sports that pose a potential risk for dentofacial trauma. However, mouthguard use is not mandatory in either of these sports and knowledge about tooth rescue among athletes is often neglected. The aim of this cross-sectional epidemiological survey was to evaluate the prevalence of sports-related dentofacial injuries, mouthguard use and attitudes regarding tooth rescue among cross-country mountain biking and field hockey athletes participating at pre-Olympic competitions held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A convenience sample of 217 athletes from 33 countries participating in cross-country mountain biking (n=82; mean age=30.96±8.52 years) and field hockey (n=135; mean age=19.72±2.46 years) pre-Olympic competitions were examined clinically and they answered a questionnaire regarding previous history of sports-related dentofacial injuries, attitudes towards mouthguard use and tooth rescue.

RESULTS: There were 120(55.30%) males and 97(44.70%) females who participated in the study. The prevalence of facial trauma was higher in mountain biking (54.88%) than in field hockey (26.66%)(p<0.001). Fracture was the most prevalent facial injury in mountain biking (80%), while laceration was the most prevalent in field hockey (30.55%). Extensive dental injuries occurred more often in mountain biking (47.37%) than in hockey (12.50%). The teeth most often affected were the maxillary central incisors in both mountain biking (57.89%) and field hockey (93.75%). Mouthguard use was more frequent among hockey athletes (41.48%) than in mountain biking (1.22%)( p<0.001). The overall knowledge about tooth rescue was low and most of the athletes in both sports did not know what to do in case of an avulsed tooth.

CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of dentofacial injuries among XCO-MTB and field hockey athletes participating at this pre-Olympic event was high. The majority of the athletes in this study did not use mouthguards and were unaware of recommendations in case of an avulsed tooth.