Up to 20% of players of contact sports will undergo serious dental trauma during their playing careers, a dentist and former pentathlete has warned.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Irish Dental Association (IDA), Dr Sally McCarthy, who specialises in treating sports injuries, emphasised the importance of wearing mouthguards.

She noted that while almost 100% of GAA players wear mouthguards due to this being made compulsory in 2014, in rugby, this figure can go as low as 80%.

Reasons given by players who do not wear mouthguards include discomfort, a gagging feeling, breathing difficulties and communication difficulties. However, Dr McCarthy said in such cases, customised mouthguards could be a solution.

"Besides the physical pain, it's estimated that lifelong treatment for serious dental trauma can cost between €5,000 and €20,000. Using a mouthguard can help avoid chipped or broken teeth, nerve damage to a tooth or even tooth loss. They also limit the extent of injuries to lips, the tongue and the soft tissues of the mouth," she explained.

She said that national sporting bodies need to rocognise their role in protecting their members by making mouthguard use compulsory. For example, she pointed out that while mouthguards are strongly recommended by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and Hockey Ireland, they are not mandatory.

"Basketball Ireland and Horse Sport Ireland leave it to personal choice, while they are not compulsory for the FAI, and the Turf Club has no policy. Others who participate in sports or activity which pose a risk of injury to the mouth like gymnastics, mountain biking or skateboarding, would also benefit from wearing a mouthguard," she insisted.

Meanwhile, Dr McCarthy believes that while ‘boil and bite' type mouthguards can be used by children aged six to 12 whose teeth are not fully developed, these must be remoulded or customised by a dentist to achieve an adequate level of protection as players get older.

‘These customised ‘boil and bite' type guards should be viewed as transitional appliances until such time as the teeth have fully developed. Poorly fitting ‘boil and bite' mouthguards can actually increase risk of trauma, particularly to the lips, upper jaw and tongue. All the scientific evidence shows that the only effective mouthguards for adults are ones which are custom-made and professionally fitted," she said.

Dr McCarthy also told the conference that sporting bodies should be supporting good oral habits among their members by discouraging the consumption of sugary foods and sports drinks.

"Constantly sipping sugary drinks or consuming snacks with a high sugar content has a dissolving effect on tooth enamel. Each time the saliva neutralises the sugar to protect the teeth, it is hit by another dissolving dose of sugar. Children should not be given sugary drinks after training. Water and a non-sugary snack such as a sandwich or wrap is fine and this would reduce the overall exposure of teeth to sugar," she said.

She added that for adults engaging in intensive activity, any post-training sugar should be taken over a short period of time, such as a sugar gel, and this should be followed by a neutralising protein/carbohydrate meal or shake.

"Snacks should not be sugar or fruit based. Most players are at a higher risk of suffering decay/infection through diet than sustaining an injury, and so making the above changes would have a very positive effect on their overall dental health and sporting performance."

Dr McCarty is a member of the Academy of Sports Dentistry and the International Association of Dental Traumatology. She was speaking at the IDA conference in Galway.