A Comparison of the Attitudes and Beliefs of Professional Rugby Players from one Club and Parents of Children Playing Rugby at an Adjacent Amateur Club to the Wearing of Mouthguards

Abstract

Objective To assess the knowledge that professional rugby players have with regard to the benefits of wearing an oral mouth-guard and the importance that they give to wearing the appliance during play, then to compare these views with those of the parents of children who are beginning to play the sport. Design Questionnaires and covering letters were sent to the parents of children who played rugby at Malton & Norton Rugby Union Football Club (RUFC), which has teams for all age groups from under 7–8 years to adult. Similar questionnaires were sent to the first team squad of Leeds Tykes, a Zurich Premiership rugby union club. The questionnaires asked a series of questions on the use of mouthguards and knowledge of their importance in the prevention of injuries. Results The overall response rate was 76%. Seventy-four of the 100 questionnaires sent to the parents and 25 of the 30 sent to the professional players were completed and returned. Both the professional rugby players and parents felt that mouthguards were essential when playing rugby. The professionals seemed to have a much greater understanding of the benefits that mouth-guards provided. Although parents agreed that children should begin to wear mouthguards as soon as possible, very few actually did. The barriers to providing mouth protection were mainly financial combined with the difficulties of taking the child to the dentist. Conclusions If the results from this small study are representative of the current situation, with regard to the wearing of mouth-guards by professional players and children, it appears that there is a need for all those involved to ensure that rugby-playing children wear mouthguards. Rugby clubs could consider the appointment of honorary dental advisers and devise systems to ensure that cost is not a factor in preventing children from wearing mouthguards.