Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Mouth Guards in the Prevention of Orofacial Injuries in Sports Persons – A Cross-sectional Study

Background and Aim: Sports-related orofacial injuries are increasing in parallel with the growing popularity of sports worldwide. The risk of sports-related orofacial injuries can be minimized by the best practices of protective devices. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of mouth guards in preventing orofacial injuries among sports persons in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: A specific questionnaire comprising 15 questions regarding knowledge, attitude, and practices of mouth guards in the prevention of orofacial injuries was distributed among 200 athletes in Nellore City for 2 months. The data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: There were 200 sports persons who participated in this study; out of them, 142 were male and 52 were female. Their ages ranged from 14 to 30 years. About 38.5% of sports persons were practicing for 2–5 years, and 10.5% of sports persons were practicing for more than 8 years. The Chi-square test analysis shows a significant difference between males and females in their awareness of protective devices (P < 0.05). The highest percentage of awareness was seen in females. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that gender, type of sports, and experience had an influence on awareness of protective devices. The sports persons had knowledge on the protective effectiveness of mouth guards in reducing orofacial injuries.