ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2026
Post-traumatic dental care, mouthguard use, and preventive behaviour among athletes participating in sports with different contact intensities: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSports-related dental and maxillofacial trauma remains a significant oral health problem in contact sports. This study aimed to investigate dental trauma experience, mouthguard use patterns, and post-traumatic dental care behaviours among elite combat sport athletes and to compare these outcomes according to sport contact intensity.
methodsA cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 357 athletes involved in collision, contact, and limited-contact sports. Data on dental trauma history, mouthguard awareness and use, and post-traumatic dental care behaviours were collected. Comparisons between sport groups were performed using Pearson's chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, and multinomial logistic regression analyses (p < 0.05).
resultsMouthguard awareness was reported by 78.7% of athletes, and 84.9% perceived a risk of orofacial injury. Dental trauma during training or competition was reported by 37.3% of participants; however, only 21.1% sought professional dental care following injury. Mouthguard use was low, particularly during training, where 62.7% reported never using one. Athletes participating in collision sports more frequently believed that their sport required orofacial protection (p < 0.001) and reported more frequent mouthguard use during national and international competitions (both p = 0.001).
conclusionsDental trauma was common, whereas mouthguard use and post-traumatic dental attendance remained inadequate. Although awareness of mouthguards was relatively high, it did not consistently translate into preventive behaviours, particularly during training. Targeted educational strategies and wider promotion of properly fitted mouthguards may improve injury prevention and post-traumatic care.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.