Prevention of Sports-related Dental Injuries in Children

A sports-related dental injury is defined as injuries to the oral and maxillofacial regions associated with sports activities, and involves tooth fracture and luxation, facial bone and temporomandibular fractures, and soft tissue injury. Participants in sports activities are always at risk for traumatic injury, with the oral and maxillofacial region often affected. Dental injuries also have a high rate of occurrence among sports-related injuries received during school physical education classes and club activities. Unfortunately, nearly all such dental injuries are irreversible, and the loss of teeth or their supporting tissues has a significant impact on the quality of life of affected individuals. Thus, for prevention of sports-related dental injuries, it is important for dental professionals to disseminate correct knowledge regarding oral health, as well as provide information to reduce and treat risk factors such as dental caries, periodontal disease, and occlusal problems. In particular, use of mouthguard is one of the most effective ways to prevent sports-related dental injuries that occur in sports and physical activity participants. Recently, along with increased health consciousness, the number of individuals who participate in sports and fitness activities is also increasing. Outside of the bounds of conventional dental clinical treatment, dentists are encouraged to actively be involved in local and regional organizations related to sports, recreation, and physical activity opportunities, in order to contribute to promotion of safety and health, including injury prevention. In this review, we discuss various findings to prevention of sports-related dental injuries in children.