Knowledge and attitudes of water polo coaches about sports‐related dental injuries and dental emergency procedures

Abstract

Background/Aims With the growing popularity of water polo across the world, there has been rising awareness of the risks for orofacial injures in water polo. The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge and attitudes of water polo coaches regarding dental trauma, dental emergency procedures and awareness about prevention of such injuries. Materials and Methods A specific questionnaire comprising 25 questions regarding knowledge, experiences, and behaviors following dental trauma was distributed to 62 water polo coaches during the license renewal seminar held by the Croatian Water Polo Federation, in February 2018 in Split, Croatia. Chi‐square with Yates correction when necessary, and Fisher's exact tests were used in statistical analysis, and the results were considered statistically significant when P < .05. Results There were 51 water polo coaches who participated in this study. Their ages ranged from 19 to 60 years. Most of the coaches (90.2%) have seen a dental injury in their players during their coaching careers. Concerning the procedure with handling an avulsed tooth, there were 68.6% coaches who would maintain the avulsed tooth in a handkerchief or gauze along with four coaches (7.8%) who would rinse the avulsed tooth under water and wrap it in a handkerchief or gauze afterward. Only one participant (2%) would maintain the avulsed tooth in saline solution before its replantation. None of the coaches would use milk for maintaining the avulsed tooth. Only seven coaches (13.7%) have previously had education about sports‐related dental injuries, dental emergency procedures, and prevention of such injuries. Conclusions The results of this study demonstrated poor level of knowledge of water polo coaches about dental injuries and dental emergency procedures. Their knowledge and attitudes could be improved by educational programs on dental injuries and dental emergency procedures, as well as sports‐related dental injuries management.

Attitudes and opinions towards the prevention of orofacial injuries among water polo coaches in Catalonia: A cross‐sectional study

“…In the context of concern here, continuous motivational reinforcement by coaches could improve player's compliance with mouthguard use 16 . In Croatia, 69% of water polo coaches recommend mouthguard use, 21 but these recommendations have had little effect since only 3% of Croatian water polo players regularly wear mouthguards 8 . It may be that, in isolation, the recommendations of coaches are necessary but not sufficient to achieve regular use.…”

“…The sample size was estimated as 68, with a 95% confidence interval, a precision of ±10%, an estimated dropout rate of 10%, an expectation that about half of the coaches would recommend mouthguard use and considering the total number of water polo coaches in Catalonia to be 180 21 . Coaches' ages and years of experience were non‐normally distributed ( p = 0.004 and p = 0.001, respectively; Shapiro–Wilk).…”

“…It is important to record the attitudes and knowledge of water polo coaches and their clubs regarding mouthguard use in order to implement injury surveillance programmes and to possibly also introduce changes in the rules of the sport 21 . Higher levels of agreement between coaches and sports club managers would be expected to improve the efficiency of these preventive strategies.…”

Effect of thickness and occlusal accommodation on the degree of satisfaction with mouthguard use among water polo players: A randomized crossover trial

“…3,[5][6][7] In the meantime, coaches, dentists, and healthcare providers should educate athletes and, if necessary, their parents, about the benefits of using mouthguards to increase their use in water polo players. 12,30,36,37 Moreover, if elite players started to wear mouthguards regularly, it could encourage compliance among young players and decrease the negative stigma that can be associated with their use. Interference with athletic performance b 0 (0 to 1.6) 1.45 (0 to 2.9) −0.11 (−1 to 0) .025…”

“…Furthermore, national and international aquatic federations should consider the option of making mouthguard use mandatory in water polo competitions 3,5–7 . In the meantime, coaches, dentists, and healthcare providers should educate athletes and, if necessary, their parents, about the benefits of using mouthguards to increase their use in water polo players 12,30,36,37 . Moreover, if elite players started to wear mouthguards regularly, it could encourage compliance among young players and decrease the negative stigma that can be associated with their use.…”