A special report on sports related facial injuries

Alarming rise in Ludhiana
Survey conducted by Dr. H.S.Sethi
Ludhiana//10th December, 2011//Shalu Arora
Sports– related facial injuries have been found to be on an alarming rise in the recent past. This was reported based on a survey conducted by Dr. Harsimran Singh Sethi of the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Christian Dental College, CMC Ludhiana. The study was carried out under the able guidance of Prof (Mrs).Namita Singh and Prof. Abi M. Thomas.
The survey conducted among 2000 athletically active school children aged 8 – 11 years selected from various schools of Ludhiana revealed a sports related facial injury occurrence of 26.65%.The survey further found that out of the 1162 injuries encountered among 533 injured participants, 55% involved bruising of face followed by dental injuries (30%) and cuts (15%). It was seen that 14% of the involved participants suffered dental (teeth) injuries including fractured, loosened and completely knocked out teeth.
Teeth are supposed to be the hardest structure of the whole body and an injury especially to the front teeth creates a feeling of symbolic loss which the child has to carry on with him for the rest of the lifetime. So the doctors recommend use of properly fitting dentist-made protective equipment i.e. mouthguards especially among children involved in high risk contact sports. The doctors further recommended the sports instructors in the schools to make the children and the parents aware of such protective devices so that the incidence of such injuries can be reduced or at least decreased in severity and the children can safely enjoy the healthy benefits of sports activities.
In another study conducted by Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Assistant Professor, Christian Dental College, to know the awareness of school teachers to manage injuries happening to the oral structures in the schools,it was found that nearly 90% of the teachers were not aware of the first aid treatment in such cases.
Following this, Dr. Rajesh Kumar and others did a commendable job of educating teachers and physical health instructors of 10 schools in Ludhiana in the first aid management of such injuries including sports injuries.
According to Dr. Laxman Kumar, Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, “any trauma which involves facial region, if not attended in time, will have long term effects in appearance and in function (chewing and speech)”.
Dr. Abi M. Thomas, Principal, Christian Dental College emphasized that after first aid treatment, it is very important to refer the patient to a specialized dental setup like Christian Dental College, where a highly qualified team of specialist dental personnel’s is available for management of such cases including specialists in other areas of dental concern.