POSITION STATEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MOUTHGUARD USE IN SPORTS

Prior to implementation of the NFHS mouthguard rule an athlete participating in contact sports had a better than 50 % chance of sustaining a significant oral-facial injury during his or her secondary school career. Multiple studies by the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the American Academy of Sports Dentistry convincingly show the reduction of oral-facial injuries with the use of a properly fitted mouthguard. Prior to the use of properly fitted mouthguards and facemasks, over 50 % of football players ’ injuries were oral-facial. They now represent less than 1 % of all injuries. The NFHS currently mandates the use of mouthguards in football, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse and wrestling (for wrestlers wearing braces). The Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) of the NFHS recommends that athletes consider the use of a properly fitted, unaltered mouthguard for participation in any sport that has the potential for oral-facial injury from body or playing apparatus (stick, bat, ball, etc) contact. Current research does not support the theory that mouthguard use minimizes the risk or severity of concussion. The SMAC encourages further study in this importan