Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Oral Health and Masticatory System Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, IDIBELL L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
Dent Traumatol. 2020 Dec;36(6):670-679. doi: 10.1111/edt.12583. Epub 2020 Jul 20.
BACKGROUND/AIM: The optimal mouthguard type and design for each player and sport are currently unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of using a thicker custom-made mouthguard with occlusal accommodation on the degree of satisfaction among water polo players.
Twenty-five elite water polo players participated in this randomized four-period crossover trial conducted from February to May 2019. For each participant, two customized mouthguards were fabricated using 4-mm ethyl vinyl acetate foil: Type A included no occlusal accommodation, and Type B included a 2-mm occlusal accommodation. Players wore each mouthguard during training sessions and competitions for 2 weeks in one of two randomized sequences. After each match or training session, players were asked to evaluate the mouthguards on 10-point scales across three domains: discomfort or interference with function, protection, and general satisfaction. Mouthguard preference was also recorded.
The mouthguard with occlusal accommodation was reported to interfere more with speech and swallowing (P < .001) and with esthetics, breathing, and athletic performance (P < .05) compared with the conventional mouthguard. Although occlusal accommodation was associated with a higher perceived degree of protection (mean difference 0.5; 95% CI: 0.2-0.8), players were still more satisfied with the conventional mouthguard (mean difference 1.5; 95% CI: 0.8-2.3). Two players preferred the occlusal mouthguard, whereas 22 preferred the conventional mouthguard (P = .007).
Among water polo players, occlusal accommodation increasing the thickness of the custom-made mouthguards may offer a greater perceived sense of protection, but this comes at the cost of greater discomfort and reduced overall satisfaction. Dentists can recommend conventional mouthguards for most water polo players.
背景/目的：目前尚不清楚哪种类型和设计的口腔防护用具最适合每个运动员和运动项目。本研究旨在评估使用带有咬合适应功能的更厚定制口腔防护用具对水球运动员满意度的影响。
2019 年 2 月至 5 月，25 名精英水球运动员参与了这项随机四周期交叉试验。为每位参与者使用 4 毫米乙烯-醋酸乙烯共聚物箔片制作了两种定制口腔防护用具：A 型不包括咬合适应功能，B 型包括 2 毫米的咬合适应功能。运动员在 2 周的训练和比赛中，以两种随机顺序中的一种佩戴每种口腔防护用具。每次比赛或训练后，运动员在三个领域（不适或功能干扰、保护和总体满意度）对口腔防护用具进行 10 分制评估。还记录了对口腔防护用具的偏好。
与传统口腔防护用具相比，带有咬合适应功能的口腔防护用具被报告称更会干扰言语和吞咽（P<0.001），并会影响美观、呼吸和运动表现（P<0.05）。尽管咬合适应功能与更高的保护感知度相关（平均差异 0.5；95%置信区间：0.2-0.8），但运动员对传统口腔防护用具仍更满意（平均差异 1.5；95%置信区间：0.8-2.3）。有 2 名运动员更喜欢带有咬合的口腔防护用具，而 22 名运动员更喜欢传统口腔防护用具（P=0.007）。
在水球运动员中，增加定制口腔防护用具的厚度以提供咬合适应功能可能会增加更大的保护感知度，但这是以更大的不适和降低整体满意度为代价的。牙医可以为大多数水球运动员推荐传统口腔防护用具。
