Sports Mouthguards Research Articles

The prevalence of orofacial injuries and use of mouthguards in Rugby Union.

Abstract— Mouthguards are important for those involved in contact sports and their use in such sports is recommended by authorities as they provide considerable protection for the orofacial structures. The use of mouthguards in contact sports in part reflects the success of community awareness programmes designed to encourage such practice. A comprehensive study of 116 Rugby Union footballers was undertaken in 1984 to study the prevalence of orofacial injuries and the use of mouthguards in that sport and the results are presented in this paper. The grades ranged from club level through to international level of competition. Overall the usage of mouthguards was high and ranged from 79–96 per cent in the various teams. This study is the most complete ever recorded in Rugby Union.

Orofacial injuries and mouthguards: a study of the 1984 Wallabies.

As mouthguards provide protection of the teeth, jaws, adjacent soft tissues and also protect the brain against concussion following impacts to the mandible, the use of mouthguards in contact sports is strongly recommended. It is therefore essential to gauge regularly the use of mouthguards in the various contact sports at all levels of competition. Of the 30 members of the 1984 Australian Rugby Union Touring Team (the Wallabies), 80% wore mouthguards and of these, 75% believed that wearing mouthguards should be made compulsory for Rugby players. A comparison of these and other findings is made with previous studies in Rugby, and also with a similar study of the 1984 Great Britain Rugby League Touring Team.