Knowledge and prevalence of trauma and evaluation of the impact of educational and preventive actions on a population of athletes

Ana Paula Fernandes Ribeiro,Sergio Tumelero,Ticiane Cestari Fagundes Tozzi,Laura Ramos Vieria,Gabriel Andrade Nunes Carrijo,Caroline Loureiro,Rogério De Castilho Jacinto

doi:10.33448/rsd-v10i4.13913

Ana Paula Fernandes Ribeiro, Sergio Tumelero + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i4.13913

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Abstract

This university extension project aimed to verify the knowledge of athletes about dental trauma, the prevalence and type of trauma that occurred in sports, previous use of mouthguards and to evaluate the impact of educational/preventive actions implemented in this population. The study was divided into 1) Application of Questionnaire 1 (n=94); 2) Clinical examination and manufacture of mouthguards; 3) Lecture on trauma; 4) Application of questionnaire 2 (n=40). The data were submitted to descriptive analysis and Fisher's exact test, with a significance of 5%. Athletes showed little knowledge about dental trauma. The prevalence of trauma and previous use of the protector were higher in athletes in the fighting sports category (p<0.05). After the lectures, the athletes showed improvement in knowledge about trauma and high adherence to the use of custom-made mouthguards. These results show how extension projects have a positive impact, changing the reality of the population.

Highlights

Orofacial trauma is considered a public oral health problem due to its high prevalence
The present study showed, through university extension, how educational and preventive intervention actions can positively impact a population, in this case in particular a population of athletes
The athletes demonstrated greater knowledge and security to deal with dental trauma

Summary

Introduction

Orofacial trauma is considered a public oral health problem due to its high prevalence. The most frequent reasons for the occurrence of these injuries are accidents related to the practice of sports (Galic et al, 2018) These activities collaborate with almost a third of oral injuries, i.e. concussion, fracture, dislocation, and avulsion, in addition to laceration of soft tissues, fractures of the facial bones, and damage of the temporomandibular joint (Dhillon et al, 2014; Bergman et al, 2017). Direct contact sports, such as handball, basketball, football, and martial arts, result in a higher occurrence of traumas and injuries, as athletes are in physical interaction with objects and with each other (Fernandes et al, 2019). Study participants considered dental first aid training important and declared that educational interventions on dental trauma are essential (de Oliveira et al, 2017)

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