Prevalence and prevention of dental injuries in young taekwondo athletes in Croatia.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of dental and facial injuries, the habit of wearing mouthguard and the awareness regarding injury prevention and first aid after tooth avulsion among young taekwondo athletes in Croatia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey on a sample of 484 taekwondo athletes was conducted, which included 271 male (56%) and 213 female (44%) athletes aged between 8 and 28 years. The questionnaire submitted to the athletes contained 15 questions about dental trauma, use of mouthguard, dental trauma prevention, level of awareness about tooth avulsion and replantation and disturbances associated with mouthguard use. Collected data were evaluated according to gender, age groups and duration of actively engagement in taekwondo. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used for comparisons between groups. RESULTS: From the survey 300 (62%) of 484 athletes had sustained one serious injury and 103 (21%) had sustained an orofacial injury, while 194 (40%) had observed another player sustaining a dental injury. Higher number of orofacial injuries was observed in males (24%) than in females (18%). Furthermore, 98 (20%) athletes have experienced one or more dental injuries, and out of these 98 suffering dental injury 60 were male (61%) and 38 were female (39%). The frequency of orofacial injuries in the older group (42%) is higher than in three younger groups (younger cadets 25%; cadets 13%; juniors 20%) (p<0.05). Mouthguard wearing was recorded in 465 athletes (96%), 47.1% of them wear stock mouthguard, 47.6% wear boil and bite mouthguard, but only 5.3% were custom-made mouthguards. Most of them (96%) consider that mouthguards are useful for injury prevention in taekwondo. CONCLUSION: The results of this survey show that dental and orofacial injuries occur in taekwondo in all age groups but mostly in the senior group. Taekwondo players know the importance of mouthguard use, but only 5% use custom made mouthguards. This is not adequate for dental injury prevention and highlights the important role of dental professional in education of athletes for advocating the use of custom made mouthguards.

The "sweet science" of reducing periorbital lacerations in mixed martial arts.

The popularity of mixed martial arts competitions and televised events has grown exponentially since its inception, and with the growth of the sport, unique facial injury patterns have surfaced. In particular, upper eyelid and brow lacerations are common and are especially troublesome given the effect of hemorrhage from these areas on the fighter's vision and thus ability to continue. We propose that the convexity of the underlying supraorbital rim is responsible for the high frequency of lacerations in this region after blunt trauma and offer a method of reducing subsequent injury by reducing its prominence.

Evaluation of mouthguards for the prevention of orofacial injuries during United States Army basic military training.

Beginning in January 2000, all individuals participating in basic military training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, were issued boil-and-bite mouthguards. From January 2000 to March 2001, trainees were required to wear mouthguards only for a single activity, pugil stick training. After March 2001, mouthguards were required for four activities including pugil stick training, unarmed combat, rifle/bayonet training, and the confidence/obstacle course. Dentists systematically tracked trainees who reported to the dental clinic with orofacial injuries during three periods: January 2000-March 2001 (phase 1), April-September 2001 (phase 2) and September 2002-June 2003 (phase 3). Orofacial injury rates were 3.35, 1.89 and 1.91 cases/10,000 person-years in phases 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The overall risk of an orofacial injury was 1.76 (95% confidence interval = 1.03-3.02) times higher in phase 1 compared with the combined phases 2 and 3 (P = 0.006). Thus, orofacial injury rates were lower when mouthguards were required for four training activities as opposed to one training activity. Mouthguards are now required at all five Army basic training sites when trainees are performing any of the four training activities.

[Competitive karate and the risk of HIV infection--review, risk analysis and risk minimizing strategies]. / Wettkampfkarate und die Gefahr einer HIV-Infektion--Ubersicht, Risikoanalyse und Strategien zur Risikominimierung.

Bleeding facial injuries are not uncommon in competitive karate. Nevertheless, the risk of an infection with HIV is extremely low. Guidelines about the prevention of HIV infections are presented. Especially in contact sports and martial arts the athletes, judges and staff have to recognize and employ these recommendations. Bleeding wounds of the hands due to contact with the opponents teeth can be minimized by fist padding.

Knowledge and attitudes of coaches of secondary school athletes in Ibadan, Nigeria regarding oro-facial injuries and mouthguard use by the athletes.

- The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions of secondary school sports' coaches about oro-facial injuries and mouth protector usage in sports by the adolescent athletes. A 10-item, self-completion questionnaire was distributed to 42 coaches from 23 secondary schools randomly selected from different parts of Ibadan city in Nigeria between May and June, 2002. The questionnaire sought information on why a mouth protector (mouthguard) is used, when it is required; the types of mouth protector used, the major reasons for choosing a specific mouth protector, and personal feeling as to whether mouthguards prevent oral injury. Descriptive statistics were used for the data while the chi-square statistic was employed to test the significance of association between variables. All the coaches, 25 (59.5%) males and 17 (40.5%) females with age range of 19-51 years and mean age of 38.07 +/- 8.97 years (mean +/- SD), completed and returned the forms (100% completion rate). 95.2% of the coaches believed that mouthguards prevent oral injuries and 95.2% of them also would like more information on different types of mouthguard, while 4.8% each felt otherwise. The main factor determining the choice of the type of mouthguard for athletes by the coaches was the quality of oral protection (57.1%), and the next was the cost (23.8%). Acceptance of mouthguard was scored as positive by 88.1% of the athletes. 81.0% of the coaches felt that mouthguard should be worn at all times (during practices and competitions) while 19.0% would prefer the use during competitions only. The majority of the coaches (71.4%) believed that boxing needs mouthguards, 2.4% each indicated football (soccer) and Judo while 11.9% of the coaches did not indicate any sport. The majority of these Nigerian coaches agreed on the protective effectiveness of mouthguard against sport-related oro-facial injuries, but they are yet to be adequately informed about mouthguards generally so as to correctly advise and influence these adolescent athletes in this regard.

Alcohol-related violence and the role of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in multi-agency prevention.

The maxillofacial region is by far the most frequently selected target in assaults on adults. There is a causal link between alcohol intoxication and injury. Therefore, oral and maxillofacial surgery is, in effect, the lead speciality for those injured in violence and has a responsibility to orchestrate holistic care that takes into account mental health needs. Recent years have also seen a determined effort by oral and maxillofacial surgeons to get involved in wider issues of prevention, exemplified by the national UK BAOMS Facial Injuries Awareness Week. Multi-agency prevention, not just with mental health professionals in the case of individual patients, but also with emergency medicine, public health, local government, the police and the voluntary sector is key to success. Given the potential complexity of collaborations like this, it is important to understand what works in multi-agency prevention. This paper reviews successful interventions: their rationale and how oral and maxillofacial surgeons can contribute to local injury prevention.

Emollients in the prevention of frostbite.

47% of Finnish conscripts had had at least one frostbite of the head (42% on the ears, 23% on the face) at the age of 19. Non-medicated ointments are traditionally used in Finland for protection against facial frostbite without scientific evidence of their benefit. In studies on cold protecting emollients it was found that 21% of the male conscripts in Finland had used them in the cold. 84% of the users had experienced their effect as somewhat or clearly protective. However, in a controlled prospective epidemiological study of 913 cold injuries of the head, the use of cold protective ointments was associated with an increased risk of frostbite to the head (odds ratio 4.5 for ear frostbite, 5.6 for nasal frostbite and 3.3 for frostbite on other parts of the face). The thermal insulation provided by different emollients in the cold was minimal in in vitro experiments using a skin model. In in vivo studies with test subjects the skin on the applied half of the face cooled at least as quickly as the untreated half. However, when white petrolatum was applied, the subjective skin perception of a test persons was warming in the majority of the tests, in contrast to objective measurements. "Protecting" emollients seem to cause a false sensation of safety leading to an increased risk of frostbite probably mainly through neglect of efficient protective measures.

Mouth protection in sport in Scotland--a review.

The oral health strategy for Scotland, which was published in 1995, recommends that dentists promote the use of mouth protection in sport to reduce the risk of injury. There is compulsory mouthguard use in some sports including ice-hockey, fencing, boxing, lacrosse and some forms of autocycling. In cricket, face protection appears to be compulsory for batsmen only. The use of mouth protection in the martial arts is compulsory at international level but, in the UK, the rule does not seem to be always enforced at club level. Players of contact sports, such as rugby and hockey, are considered to be more at risk of dentoalveolar injury and the governing bodies of these sports recommend that players at all levels wear mouth protection but have not made it mandatory.

Injury rates in Shotokan karate.

OBJECTIVE: To document the injury rate in three British Shotokan karate championships in consecutive years. In these tournaments strict rules governed contact, with only "light" or "touch" contact allowed. Protective padding for the head, hands, or feet was prohibited. METHODS: Prospective recording of injuries resulting from 1770 bouts in three national competitions of 1996, 1997, and 1998. Details of ages and years of karate experience were also obtained. RESULTS: 160 injuries were sustained in 1770 bouts. The overall rate of injury was 0.09 per bout and 0.13 per competitor. 91 (57%) injuries were to the head. The average age of those injured was 22 years, with an average of nine years of experience in karate. CONCLUSIONS: The absence of protective padding does not result in higher injury rates than in most other series of Shotokan karate injuries. Strict refereeing is essential, however, to maintain control and minimise contact.