How do mouthguards protect against concussions

The players came from 3 age divisions: Pee Wee, children aged 11 to 12 years; Bantam, children aged 13 to 14 years; and Midget, children aged 15 to 17 years. There were cases of concussion and cases of nonconcussion injury. At the time of injury, children who became concussed either physician-diagnosed or therapist-suspected concussion were wearing a mouth guard and of the children who had nonconcussion injuries were wearing a mouth guard.

Any mouth guard use was linked with an adjusted odds ratio aOR for concussion of 0. Neither cohort reported dental injuries. The investigators concluded that using mouth guards during play did reduce the chances of concussion.

They stated that wearing a mouth guard should be a requirement for all players in ice hockey leagues for children and adolescents. It can also be caused by the lower jaw being driven against the skull where the joints are located. The proposed benefits of wearing a mouth guard was that it changed the position of the jaw so that when the impact occurred, the mouth guard would reduce the force into the skull. Previous studies have theorised that mouth guards can help absorb shock, stabilize the head and neck, and limit movement caused by a direct hit to the jaw.

Although there is yet any thorough guidelines and data on the consistent benefit of mouth guards, there appears to have some evidence on the use of them as a reduction in the risk of concussion. There are also no obvious negative outcomes other than them being uncomfortable when the athlete is first trying to get used to them.

Mouth guards are mandatory in NZ rugby after a significant reduction seen in ACC rugby related dental claims. It is difficult to eradicate the risk of concussion in high paced, hard hitting, strong contact sport and research is still ongoing with regards to the benefits of external aids to help reduce the impact or severity of such an injury. Roberts J. With this approach, we can create a custom mouth guard that:. By Dr.

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