Course Description

Dental Trauma and Sports Dentistry: Prevention and Treatment
Sports play a very important part in the lives of many of our patients. Not just high level and professional athletes, but kids and weekend warriors as well. Most players put themselves at risk of dental injuries when participating in these activities. Sports dentistry is the part of sports medicine that, in addition to other things, deals with the treatment and prevention of these injuries. How to handle dental injury emergencies and how to prevent them from happening is important for the dental professional especially in the context of the active athlete. In addition, it is critical that dentists be able to communicate with other sports medical personnel, parents, coaches and school nurses if injuries occur.

This presentation will make the listener comfortable dealing with trauma to the permanent teeth and familiarize everyone with the 2020 International Association of Dental Traumatology’s Guidelines for Dental Trauma. We will discuss the history, functions and effectiveness of the modern athletic mouthguard. We will also touch on several topics where sports and dentistry connect for the health and safety of today's athlete, such as nutrition and sports drinks, smokeless tobacco use and how oral health is being investigated as to its impact on athletic performance. This will be a varied and evidence-based presentation showing real life cases, videos, and information collected over a forty-year career as a pediatric and sports dentist. It is meant for dentists primarily but will be of use to any dental professional who deals with athletes of any age or skill level.

1. Introduction to the idea of Sports Dentistry as a component of Sports Medicine
2. Epidemiology of Sports Dentistry
   1. Participation
   2. Injury Rates versus Injury Risks
   3. Factors influencing injury risk
      1. Age
      2. Gender
      3. Dental Anatomy
      4. Sport Type
3. Sports Related Orofacial Traumatic Injury
   1. Bone Injuries (alveolar, Mandibular, and Maxillary)
   2. Soft Tissue Injuries
   3. Dental Injuries
      1. Uncomplicated Crown Fracture
      2. Complicated Crown Fracture
      3. Crown Root Fracture
      4. Luxations and Root Fractures
      5. Avulsions
4. The Modern Athletic Mouthguard
   1. History and Functions (Effectiveness)
   2. Types
   3. Fabrication Techniques and ideal characteristics
5. Miscellaneous
   1. Sports Nutrition and sports drinks
   2. Smokeless Tobacco
   3. Oral Health, Performance and the Elite Athlete
6. Summary
   

The educational teaching methodology used in this course is a lecture presented via live webinar in concert with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. Both the live lecture and the PowerPoint presentation incorporate a variety of audio and visual cues to enhance audience members’ understanding and retention of key concepts. In addition, audience participation will be encouraged and facilitated by group discussions as well as question and answer periods provided for at the conclusion of each section of the live webinar."

Registrations for this live webinar have been closed.

Course Objectives

At the completion of this course the participants should be able to:

1. Understand the functions and effectiveness of the Modern Athletic Mouthguard.
2. Learn how to fabricate a Heat Pressure Laminate mouthguard.
3. Learn the characteristics of the ideal mouthguard
4. Learn the risks of Sports Beverages.
5. Be introduced to how oral health could potentially impact Sports Performance.
6. Learn the basic ideas of the risk for Dental Trauma while participating in certain sports.
7. Learn the difference between injury Incidence (rate) and Prevalence (risk).
8. Become familiar with the Basic Trauma guidelines for Permanent tooth Trauma based on the 2020 IADT Guidelines and put in the perspective of the Active Athlete.

What People Are Saying

• "Dr. Mills was very passionate about the subject and knowledgeable, and he was animated as he taught."
  
  
• "Presentation was very organized, well thought out. Good energy."
  
  
• "Dr. Mills made it interesting and fun. Very evident that he enjoys and values what he does. Information was all very current and relevant to everyday situations."