Dental and Orofacial Injuries

Abstract

Oral and facial injuries are very common in sport, and can be very expensive to treat. Many of these injuries are preventable with proper pre-competition assessment and suitable well-designed protection. Prompt sideline identification and management of orofacial injuries and appropriate follow-up are crucial to successful outcomes. There have been significant recent advances in both trauma management and mouth guard design and fabrication techniques. Athletes have a unique set of challenges-including collisions, finances, travel and training, dehydration, sport beverages, and high carbohydrate diets-that may compromise their oral health.

Keywords: Dental and orofacial injuries; Mouth guards; Prevention; Treatment.