Uso de goteiras durante a atividade desportiva

: estudo piloto

Abstract

Introduction: In recent years we have been seeing an increase in the practice of sports activities in Portugal. This fact leads to an increase of injuries, including orofacial and dental ones. One of the means, to prevent them, is the use of mouthguards. Athletes, parents, coaches and sports leaders should be aware of its importance, in order to develop attitudes that prevent or minimize the risk of trauma.Objectives: To evaluate the use of mouthguards during sports and investigate the perception of athletes and coaches, professionals and amateurs, about the importance of the use of mouthguards in preventing injuries in the oral cavity.Materials and methods: 92 questionnaires were made to 80 athletes in handball and roller hockey at the amateur or professional level and their 12 coaches.After collecting the data, it was entered and analyzed statistically using the IBM ® SPSS Statistics software, v20.0.0 (Software Statistical Package for Social Science).Results: After analyzing and processing the data, it was found that 22.5% of the athletes suffered oral or dental trauma, and 90% of the athletes of the sample do not use mouthguards, during sports. The causes most frequently mentioned to justify such low usage were: difficulty in breathing, adaptation, in speaking, as well as an increased salivary flow. All the questioned coaches had regarded that the mouthguard prevents trauma occurrence during sport practice. Most coaches (91.67%) expressed interest in obtaining more information about the use and their types.Conclusion: Despite recognizing the benefits in the prevention of oral trauma, the majority of athletes of the modalities studied don't use gutter protection during sports, the main reasons pointed are: difficulty in breathing, adaptation and in speaking as well as the increased salivary flow.The collection of information, on oral injuries, occurred during sports, assumes importance in order to establish preventive measures and awareness not only of athletes but also for coaches.

Date of Award	2014
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Filipe Miguel Araújo (Supervisor) & Filipa Alexandra Santos Bexiga (Co-Supervisor)