Prevalence of Dentofacial Injuries and Concussions Among College Athletes and Their Perceptions of Mouthguards

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the rates of dento-facial injuries and concussions among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division 1 college athletes and their perceptions of mouth-guards and their protection role in injury prevention. MATERIALS AND METHODS A specific survey regarding the experiences of dento-facial injuries and concussions, attitudes towards the mouthguards, and knowledge of dental first aid was distributed to 682 NCAA division I college athletes registered at Columbia University. The independent predictor variable was sport type (contact versus noncontact). The dependent outcome variables were dental injury rate, facial injury rate, concussion rate, mouthguard use, knowledge of dental first aid. Chi-squared and independent sample tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The mean age of the athletes was 19.4 years (range: 17 to 22). 107 (47.6%) athletes were male. Only 62 (27.6%) athletes reported mouthguard use during gameplay. The most popular choice of mouthguard was the mouth-molded type (56.7%). Mouthguard use was significantly more prevalent among contact sport athletes (43.3% versus 1.2%; P