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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

Repositioning accuracy: comparison of a noninvasive head holder with thermoplastic mask for fractionated radiotherapy and a case report.

PURPOSE: To compare accuracy, clinical feasibility, and subjective patient impression between a noninvasive head holder (Vogele Bale Hohner [VBH]; Wellhoefer Dosimetry, Schwarzenbruck, Germany) developed at the University of Innsbruck and the thermoplastic mask fixation system for use in fractionated external radiotherapy. We present a case report of an actual patient fixated in the VBH head holder during radiation therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The VBH head holder consists of an individualized vacuum dental cast connected to a head plate via two hydraulic arms allowing noninvasive, reproducible head fixation of even uncooperative patients. Accuracy was tested and compared with that of the thermoplastic mask using the Phillips EasyGuide navigation system on five volunteers. Specific external registration points served as landmarks and their positions were compared after each repositioning. System and operator inaccuracy were also taken into account. The times taken for production and repositioning of the respective fixation devices were compared, and subjective impressions were noted. RESULTS: Mean VBH head holder repositioning accuracy was 1.02 mm while that of the thermoplastic mask was 3.05 mm. 69% of mask repositionings showed a deviation > 2 mm and 41% > 3 mm (as opposed to 8% and 1% respectively for the VBH head holder) Those points located farthest away from the respective plane of fixation showed the largest deviations. Both production and repositioning times were similar between the systems; depending upon the patient, the VBH head holder was generally better tolerated than the mask system. CONCLUSION: Due to its significantly better repositioning accuracy compared to that of the thermoplastic mask, the VBH head holder is especially suited for external radiation requiring precise repositioning due to critical tissues in immediate surrounding of the area to be irradiated.

Adult↗

A review of orthodontic face-bow injuries and safety equipment.

Reports of soft tissue injuries from orthodontic face-bows have continued to appear in the dental and medical publications since the American Association of Orthodontists reported problems in 1975. In 1994 the results of a preliminary survey of face-bow injuries of the orthodontic societies and dental schools in Europe recorded nine serious injuries. The results of a recent face-bow injury survey of orthodontic practitioners in the United Kingdom and Eire recorded 33. The relative effectiveness of current extraoral traction safety products is discussed in relation to the cause of these continuing injuries.

Adolescent↗

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome: successful prevention of lower lip ulceration caused by self-mutilation by use of mouth guard.

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS) is a disorder caused by congenital absence of a purine metabolic enzyme, hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl-transferase (HGPRT). This syndrome is characterized clinically by hyperuricemia and neurologic features including choreoathetoid spasticity, self-mutilation, and mental retardation. We report on a patient in whom self-mutilation of the lower lip was suppressed with the help of a mouth guard made from soft resin.

Humans↗

Fusion of maxillary and mandibular alveolar process together with a median mandibular cleft: a rare congenital anomaly.

Congenital fusion of the maxillary alveolar process and mandible is a very rare entity. A one day old male newborn was referred to our clinic with a diagnosis of a 'absence of oral cavity'. Physical examination revealed that there was no mouth opening bilaterally in the posterior region due to maxillary and mandibular bone fusion; and in the front there was only 1 mm of mouth opening. Examination of the intraoral space could not be achieved. No other congenital anomaly was detected on general examination. The infant, who was fed via a nasogastric tube for 1 month, was operated on. An intra-oral device which separated maxillary and mandibular alveolar arches from each other was designed and used for 8 weeks to avoid recurrence of the fusion. An adequate mouth opening was obtained and the infant could be fed orally.

Alveolar Process↗

Do community football players wear allocated protective equipment? Descriptive results from a randomised controlled trial.

Before protective equipment can be adopted as an effective sports safety intervention, its protective effects in reducing the incidence and severity of injury need to be demonstrated, Importantly, it also needs to be well accepted by the players. The Australian Football Injury Prevention Project (AFIPP) was a large scale community-based randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of headgear and mouthguards in preventing head/neck/dental injuries in Australian Football. A subcomponent of this study was to assess the extent to which community football players complied with the requirement to wear protective headgear and/or mouthguards, as this equipment is not compulsory in this sport. Three hundred and one community football players from 23 teams were randomly allocated to one of three protective equipment intervention arms or one control arm. Protective equipment usage was measured by a primary data collector at each training and game session during the 2001 playing season. Mouthguard use was higher than headgear use, with the highest usage for both being measured during games rather than training. Although many players use mouthguards, particularly in games, most do not wear headgear. Given the low adoption of headgear, other strategies to prevent head injuries need further investigation.

Football↗

Tackling Rugby injury: lessons learned from the implementation of a five-year sports injury prevention program.

Rugby Union football is a very popular sport in New Zealand but of all the major sports played in that country, it has the highest reported incidence of injury. In 1995, a national rugby injury prevention program was instigated to address this problem. Known as Tackling Rugby Injury, this multifaceted program was implemented over a five-year period. The program was based on the results of a prospective cohort study of rugby injury, known as the Rugby Injury and Performance Project (RIPP), and was organised around seven themes, five relating to the prevention of injury: coaching, fitness, injury management, tackling, and foul play, and two relating to the implementation and evaluation of the program. The purpose of this paper is to describe the lessons learned from the implementation of Tackling Rugby Injury. Qualitative research methods were used to describe the process of implementation, including informant interviews, participant observation, and the scrutiny of written, visual and archival material. Among the lessons learned were the importance of basing injury prevention strategies on scientific evidence rather than popular belief, the difficulty in implementing complex interventions, the advantages of a formal agreement between partners in the implementation of a program, the central role played by coaches in promoting injury prevention strategies, and the value of describing the process of implementation as well as monitoring injury outcomes and changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. It is hoped that other sports wishing to develop injury prevention programs can learn from this experience.

Athletic Injuries↗

Community level Australian Football: a profile of injuries.

Identification of injuries and their risk factors is required in order to develop risk controls within the context of sports injury prevention. The Australian Football Injury Prevention Project (AFIPP) was a randomised controlled trial (RCT) examining the effects of protective equipment on injury rates in Australian Rules Football. The aim of this paper is to describe the general injury profile of community level Australian Football players over one season, as recorded during this RCT. Players were recruited from the largest community football league in Victoria, Australia, during the 2001 playing season. A total of 301 players participated (64% response rate) and all injuries occurring during training and games were recorded. The overall injury incidence rate was 12.1/1000 player hours. Bruises/soft tissue injuries made up more than a quarter of all injuries (28%) and the leg (lower leg, ankle, thigh/hamstring and knee) was the most commonly injured body region. Most injuries occurred at the beginning of the season (April-May, 53% of injuries), during competition (77%) and through body contact (49.9%). Midfielders (OR = 3.39, 95% CI: 1.13, 10.14) and players aged at least 25 years (OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.06, 4.34) were significantly more likely to experience an injury than other playing positions and younger players. Although the injury rate in this study was lower than that in previous studies, the results are consistent with the finding that injuries tend to occur earlier in the season and more commonly during competition. Injury prevention efforts should be particularly targeted at midfielders and older players.

Adolescent↗

Mouthguard use in Australian football.

A survey was performed of 961 Australian rules footballers of varying age and football ability in order to determine the prevalence of mouthguard use during training and match play. Emergency dental injury data was obtained to compare the frequency and timing of dental injury in a non-sporting community population. The prevalence of mouthguard use during match play varied between 60% for juniors and 90% for elite footballers whereas the mouthguard use during training ranged between 2% for junior and 40% for elite players. One third of players used over the counter 'boil & bite' mouthguards, generally considered unsatisfactory for dental protection. Of the players who did not currently use mouthguards, most had tried them previously but found them uncomfortable to wear. The community dental injury data showed that the majority of emergency dental injuries were due to sport and followed the temporal pattern of sports participation on week days and weekends. The prevalence of mouthguard use in this population was not known. This study has implications for the provision of emergency dental treatment for sport participants and for improved dental injury prevention measures to avoid expensive and potentially disfiguring dental injuries in young athletes.

Adolescent↗

Rugby players' satisfaction with custom-fitted mouthguards made with different materials.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the comfort of two bimaxillary custom-fitted mouthguards. One type was made with silicone rubber and the other with methyl-methacrylate (acrylic). METHODS: The study was a within-subject crossover clinical trial with 52 high-school rugby players who were randomly allocated to one of two groups. The first group wore a silicone mouthguard for 4 months and an acrylic one for the following 4-month period. The second group wore an acrylic mouthguard followed by a silicone one for similar periods. Comfort, bulkiness, stability, hardness, ability to talk and to breathe, oral dryness, nausea and inclination to chew were evaluated for each period using a Visual Analogue Scale questionnaire. RESULTS: There was no significant difference concerning comfort, bulkiness, ability to talk and to breathe, oral dryness and nausea between silicone and acrylic mouthguards by group and time of examination (Three-way ANOVA P>0.05). Acrylic mouthguards were more stable and harder than silicone ones (Wilcoxon's test P<0.01). Tendency to chew was greater for silicone appliances (P<0.01). For stability, hardness and inclination to chew, there was no significant difference in the response of the players based on the sequence of use of the two types of mouthguard during the survey (Mann-Whitney test P>0.05). At the end of the study, 56% of the players preferred to keep the acrylic mouthguard and 44% chose the silicone one. This choice did not vary between the groups (chi2, P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Silicone rubber mouthguards were well accepted by the players but technical improvements in silicone materials are needed to improve hardness and stability of silicone mouthguards for sport.

Acrylic Resins↗

Laboratory evaluation of mouthguard material.

The aim of this study was to evaluate, in vitro, the EVA material (polyvinylacetate-polyethylene copolymer) most commonly used in the fabrication of mouthguards and thus to help understand mouthguard performance and to improve mouthguard design. The material was tested for tensile strength, elongation, hardness and water absorption using specimens and tests described by the American Society for Testing and Materials Standards. Standard EVA sheets of 1, 2, 3 and 5 mm thickness were prepared. With increase in the thickness of the material, both the ultimate tensile strength and the elongation were decreased. The hardness and water absorption were unaffected. It was concluded that. overall, the thicker 5 mm EVA material was recommended for mouthguards as it displayed the least deformation to load and performed equally as well in the tests as other thicknesses.

Absorption↗

Dental trauma and level of information: mouthguard use in different contact sports.

The objective of the present work was to study the occurrence of dental trauma in different sports, as well as to check if athletes used mouthguard during sport activities, and knew the significance of its utilization. The professional and semi-professional athletes who practised contact sports were interviewed, and were analyzed to determine the occurrence of dental trauma during sport practice, as well as if the athletes used a mouthguard and knew its indication. Results showed a high rate of dental trauma in athletes compared to the general population. The majority of athletes also demonstrated little utilization of mouthguard, in spite of the information about usage during sports practices and a general knowledge of its uses.

Adolescent↗

Sports dentistry and dental traumatology.

Sports dentistry had its origins in the 1980s. More recently, the Academy for Sports Dentistry joined forces with the International Association of Dental Traumatology in cosponsoring the World Congress on Sports Dentistry and Dental Traumatology. It is the intent of the present paper to introduce readers to the arena of sports dentistry, suggest future areas for collaborative research, and stimulate authors to submit high quality, scientifically based manuscripts on sports dentistry to Dental Traumatology.

Community Dentistry↗

Knowledge and prevention of dental trauma in team handball in Switzerland and Germany.

The aim of this work was to conduct a comparative study between Switzerland and Germany about the frequency of dental injuries in handball, athletes' habits of wearing mouthguard, as well as the general level of information about first emergency measures after a dental trauma and the resulting consequences for athletes and their coaches alike. For this, using interviews, seven handball teams each in two countries (Switzerland/Germany) belonging to the amateur and semiprofessional leagues were surveyed. A total of 112 individuals, 28 females and 84 males, were interviewed. Thirty-two of the 112 interviewees have once observed a dental injury; 12 have experienced a dental injury themselves. Only 10 individuals wore a mouthguard. The results show that the area of handball still requires more information and education.

Adult↗

EVA mouthguards: how thick should they be?

A major consideration in the performance of mouthguards is their ability to absorb energy and reduce transmitted forces when impacted. This is especially important to participants in contact sports such as hockey or football. The thickness of mouthguard materials is directly related to energy absorption and inversely related to transmitted forces when impacted. However, wearer comfort is also an important factor in their use. Thicker mouthguards are not user-friendly. While thickness of material over incisal edges and cusps of teeth is critical, just how thick should a mouthguard be and especially in these two areas? Transmitted forces through different thicknesses of the most commonly used mouthguard material, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) (Shore A Hardness of 80) were compared when impacted with identical forces which were capable of damaging the oro-facial complex. The constant impact force used in the tests was produced by a pendulum and had an energy of 4.4 joules and a velocity of 3 meters per second. Improvements in energy absorption and reductions in transmitted forces were observed with increasing thickness. However, these improvements lessened when the mouthguard material thickness was greater than 4 mm. The results show that the optimal thickness for EVA mouthguard material with a Shore A Hardness of 80 is around 4 mm. Increased thickness, while improving performance marginally, results in less wearer comfort and acceptance.

Analysis of Variance↗

Orofacial trauma and rugby in France: epidemiological survey.

A stratified epidemiological survey was carried out among the best French rugby players to assess the prevalence of trauma to the lower or middle part of the face (TLMPF) and the frequency at which the mouthguards (MGs) were worn. The 1140 randomized players (elite 1, elite 2 and national 1 clubs) filled in the same form anonymously. The variables were first subjected to univariate analysis (Chi-square, anova). Secondly, they were included in a multivariate model (logistic regression). Some 29.57% of players had already been affected by a TLMPF. The risk increased for the oldest forward players. It also increased with the number of yearly competitions and number of hours of weekly training. Some 64.3% of players used a MG. The frequency at which it was worn increased with the number of yearly competitions, for those who had experinced a previous trauma and for the pack players who had been playing for a long time.

Adult↗

Dental and oral trauma and mouthguard use during sport activities in Israel.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of oral and dental injuries in young Israeli population engaged in diverse sport activities. The participants' awareness of the use of protective devices, such as mouthguards, during sport activities was also evaluated. A population of 943 young adults, 95% males and 5% females (ages 18-19), was surveyed. A questionnaire was distributed relating to the type of sport activity practised, past oral and dental injuries over their lifetime, specifying the time and type of sports in which the injury occurred and the use and awareness of the protective devices. Of the total population examined, 850 (90%) were active in at least one type of sport, either as professionals or as amateurs. The analysis included the population that regularly participated in at least one sporting activity. The most commonly practised sports were soccer (54% of all active participants) and basketball (50%). The total number of dental and oral injuries experienced during all sport activities was 229, affecting 27% of the participants of whom 73 (9%) suffered dental injuries. Most dental injuries occurred during the basketball and soccer training sessions and matches reaching 42 and 41% of the total number of injuries, respectively, and affected 7.2 and 6.6% of the basketball and soccer players. Traumatic dental injuries in other sports occurred in less than 7% of the participants in these activities. Only 27% of the participants were aware of the protective devices, such as a mouthguards, and only 3% actually used these devices. These results point to the high risk of potential dental and oral injury during sport activities, the little knowledge about the benefits of using mouthguards and their limited utilization. The importance of public health education to increase the awareness of protective measures and devices and their actual use in Israel is the main focus. It should be a combined duty of dentists and sports physicians and of the coaches to encourage the use of protective devices during training and games.

Adolescent↗

Use of mouthguards by basketball players in Victoria, Australia.

Basketball is a popular sport in Australia. Although orofacial injuries are common, mouthguard (MG) wear in basketball appears to be low. The purposes of this study were: to measure mouthguard wear by basketball players before and after a promotional intervention; to assess players' knowledge of the value of mouthguards for prevention of injury; and to describe their experience of orofacial injury. Two questionnaires (baseline and follow-up) were administered to a convenience sample of 496 basketball players in Victoria, Australia. Players recruited were youths (12-15-year olds, n = 208) and adults (18 years and over, n = 288), from all basketball levels (social to elite). Completion of the baseline questionnaire was followed immediately by an intervention comprising written and verbal information, a mouthguard blank and instructions on mouthguard construction. The follow-up questionnaire was mailed to all respondents 10-12 weeks later; 135 youths (65%) and 157 adults (54%) completed this. Mouthguard wear at baseline was low but was more frequent at games (62%) than at training (25%). Despite 90% of players acknowledging the protective value of a mouthguard, wear by youths did not increase following the intervention, and wear by adults increased by only 14% for training and 10% at games. Previous orofacial injury was recorded at baseline by 23% of players, but few had requested compensation from Basketball Australia (youths, 17%; adults, 30%). Two predictor variables were statistically identified as related to mouthguard wear: previous orofacial injury and age group. Mouthguard wear was significantly more frequent amongst players with previous injury; such players were 2.76 times more likely to be wearers than those without previous injury. Youths were 2.31 times more likely to wear mouthguards than adults. Only 34 players (12% of respondents at follow-up) had a mouthguard constructed from the blank provided. Although youth and adult groups differed, the overall extent of mouthguard use was disappointingly low. Despite wide recognition of mouthguard value, the intervention had little effect on promoting their use.

Adolescent↗