Introduction: Orofacial trauma related with sports happens both in organized or amateur situations. Taking into consideration the group of sports that are collective and of contact, basketball is undoubtedly a sport with a moderate risk of orofacial trauma. Mouthguards can be a preventive measure to reduce the incidence and severity of orofacial trauma, if they are used during sports practice when indicated. Basketball is a sport with a moderate risk to orofacial trauma and the use of mouthguards is still rare in it.Objective: The aim of this investigation is to study a professional basketball team's receptivity to and acceptance of the use of mouthguards during their practices. Materials and Methods:It was assessed the expectations and opinions of 13 basketball players of Futebol Clube Porto team before and after the use of a custom-made mouthguard. The custom-made mouthguard was produced by the Erkoform 3D Motionwith the Occluform-3 accessory using 2 plaques of ethyl vinyl acetate, 4mm and 2mm thickness.Results: Only one player had used a mouthguard before. There was a change for a better opinion in 'adaptation' and 'retention' which showed statistically significant differences before and after the use of the custom-made mouthguard, p=0,045 and p=0,025 respectively. Breathing, communication and salivation didn't show any statistically significant differences. About 76.9% of the players would recommend the use of the testedcustom-made mouthguard for playing basketball.

No abstract