Dental Trauma and Sports Dentistry: Prevention and Treatment

Sports Dentistry

Sports play a very important part in the lives of many of our patients. Not just high level and professional athletes, but kids and weekend warriors as well. Most players put themselves at risk of dental injuries when participating in these activities. Sports dentistry is the part of sports medicine that, in addition to other things, deals with the treatment and prevention of these injuries. How to handle dental injury emergencies and how to prevent them from happening is important for the dental professional especially in the context of the active athlete. In addition, it is critical that dentists be able to communicate with other sports medical personnel, parents, coaches and school nurses if injuries occur.

This presentation will make the listener comfortable dealing with trauma to the permanent teeth and familiarize everyone with the 2020 International Association of Dental Traumatology’s Guidelines for Dental Trauma. We will discuss the history, functions and effectiveness of the modern athletic mouthguard. We will also touch on several topics where sports and dentistry connect for the health and safety of today’s athlete, such as nutrition and sports drinks, smokeless tobacco use and how oral health is being investigated as to its impact on athletic performance. This will be a varied and evidence-based presentation showing real life cases, videos, and information collected over a forty-year career as a pediatric and sports dentist. It is meant for dentists primarily but will be of use to any dental professional who deals with athletes of any age or skill level.

1. Introduction to the idea of Sports Dentistry as a component of Sports Medicine
2. Epidemiology of Sports Dentistry
   1. Participation
   2. Injury Rates versus Injury Risks
   3. Factors influencing injury risk
      1. Age
      2. Gender
      3. Dental Anatomy
      4. Sport Type
3. Sports Related Orofacial Traumatic Injury
   1. Bone Injuries (alveolar, Mandibular, and Maxillary)
   2. Soft Tissue Injuries
   3. Dental Injuries
      1. Uncomplicated Crown Fracture
      2. Complicated Crown Fracture
      3. Crown Root Fracture
      4. Luxations and Root Fractures
      5. Avulsions
4. The Modern Athletic Mouthguard
   1. History and Functions (Effectiveness)
   2. Types
   3. Fabrication Techniques and ideal characteristics
5. Miscellaneous
   1. Sports Nutrition and sports drinks
   2. Smokeless Tobacco
   3. Oral Health, Performance and the Elite Athlete
6. Summary

The educational teaching methodology used in this course is a self-study lecture presented via pre-recorded webinar in concert with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. Both the pre-recorded webinar and the PowerPoint presentation incorporate a variety of audio and visual cues to enhance audience members’ understanding and retention of key concepts.