Self-reported Experiences of Taekwondo Athletes with Mouthguards

Year 2025, Volume: 26 Issue: 3, 303 - 308, 22.09.2025

Gulcan Coskun Akar , Emel Ouzoun , Ece Eden , İpek Dikerler , Hatice Mükellef , Selin Yılmaz , İrem Duman

https://doi.org/10.69601/meandrosmdj.1647755

Abstract

Objectives: Taekwondo is a close contact sport, where the activity is intense, and mouthguards are mandatory. The aim of the study was to evaluate the experiences of the Taekwondo athletes on custom-made 4.0mm-thickness mouthguards verses other types retrospectively.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 26 athletes (74.29%) with permanent dentition from the Metropolitan Municipality Taekwondo Sports School who used two different types of mouthguards for at least three-months for each: a mouthguard with a thickness of 4.0 mm and another type. Their experiences on mouthguards and dental trauma were evaluated by a questionnaire. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis (p < 0.05). Appropriateness of mouthguards were evaluated from photographs.
Results: The athletes were practicing taekwondo for an average of 9.5±2.47 years and were using a mouthguard for 4.6±3.12 years. Findings revealed that 80.8% of the athletes did not use mouthguard during training. 46.2% experienced an injury where 34.6% also experienced dental injuries. 61.5% of the athletes claimed that the 4 mm thick mouthguard made them feel safer (p=0.009) and 53.8% reported a beneficial effect on their performance (p=0.09). 53.8% reported preference for 4mm-thickness mouthguard (p=0.09). 4mm-thickness custom-made mouthguards were highly accepted by the taekwondo players and should be encouraged for use in both trainings and matches.
Conclusions: It is vital that not only the trainers but also dentists and pediatric dentists promote the use of mouthguards for athletes and ensure that follow-ups are carried out for regular and comfortable use.

Keywords

Mouthguard , Taekwondo , Dental trauma , Sports injuries

Ethical Statement

Ege University Medical Research Ethics Committee, dated 04.08.2022 and numbered 22-8T/11

Thanks

The authors thank Timur Köse from Ege University Faculty of Medicine Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics for help with the statistical analyses.

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