Prevalence of dental trauma and mouthguard awareness among weekend warrior soccer players

Traumatic dental and facial injuries are frequent in sports and often cause esthetic, functional, psychological, and economic problems. The term weekend warrior is used to describe people who participate in physically demanding activities only on the weekend, or part-time. In this prospective cohort study, we examined the prevalence of dental trauma and knowledge of traumatic dental injuries among weekend warriors in Ankara, Turkey. A detailed questionnaire on mouthguard awareness and knowledge and experience of dental trauma was distributed to 1,007 weekend warrior athletes participating in a soccer tournament. The results showed that 9.8% of participants had experienced orofacial trauma, 21.7% were aware of mouthguards, 2.9% reported using mouthguards, 15.4% were aware of the field of sports dentistry, and 19.6% were aware of emergency treatment for dental trauma. Participation in sports, especially contact sports, greatly increases the risk of dental injury. The present results show that knowledge of traumatic orofacial and dental injuries is limited among weekend warriors. Public health authorities should develop relevant educational programs, including broad dissemination of information on the risks of traumatic dental injuries and methods for protection against such injuries.