Uso de protectores bucales en la práctica deportiva. Una revisión

Abstract

Introduction: A mouthguard is defined as a device of soft or laminated plastic used in sports to prevent oral lesions. The presented research was conducted in order to simplify information about mouthguards by encompassing both dental injuries and athlete's performance while using them as well as their efficacy. Although there are systematic reviews of mouthguards it has not been found so far one studying all the issues related to them. Hence, the aim of the study was to determine the use of mouthguards in sports and its relationship with the most common orofacial injuries. Method: Different sources of information were consulted: Medline through PubMed, Virtual Health Library (VHL) Cochrane, SciELO, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Included studies referred to athletes who wore mouthguards in a specific time to prevent injuries that occur during sport practice and the types of mouthguards to determine the quality of each included. Results: up to 60 articles from clinical trials, systematic reviews, cross-sectional studies, and cohort studies were found. Mouthguard use is high for practicing various sports. Conclusions: mouthguards are important for preventing injuries in all sports, they significantly reduce dental and bone lesions and hence, they offer safety to the athlete. Researchers are invited to conduct studies regarding the materials used to make mouthguards, because in the present systematic review those issues were not considered.