Implementation of a custom-made mouthguard in a professional basketball team

Abstract

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.

Present Status in Polymeric Mouthguards. A Future Area for Additive Manufacturing?

“…Instead of being prefabricated, health professionals manufacture these protectors through a personalized mold of an individual mouth, in specialized laboratories [30]. Because of the correct adjustment, the impact resistance and shock absorption are enhanced without compromising the comfort of the athlete [52].…”

Impact response of different materials for sports mouthguards

“…Nevertheless, according to Australian Dental Association, a minimum thickness of 4 mm is required for the labial flange of a mouthguard. Moreira et al [16] developed studies using a custom-made mouthguard produced by the Erkoform 3D Motion with the Occluform-3 accessory considering two plaques of ethyl vinyl acetate 4 mm and 2 mm thick and found that there were no statically significant differences concerning the retention parameters. On the other hand, Takeda et al [17] and Lunt et al [18] report that higher values of thickness for mouthguards improve the protection because they increase the absorbed energy, but excessive thicknesses impair the athletes' comfort and performance.…”