Researchers and students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine will present the latest information in sports dentistry on June 20 to 24 at the World Congress on Sports Dentistry and Dental Traumatology in Boston.
Information will be presented on topics affecting athletes and dentists including mouthguards, concussions, tobacco use and oral piercing.
Presentations by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine will include:
-- Attitudinal Factors Influencing Mouthguard Utilization - Dennis Ranalli, D.D.S., M.D.S., senior associate dean and professor and chair of pediatric dentistry, and president of the Academy of Sports Dentistry, will present an overview of current research on attitudes, towards the use of protective athletic mouthguards from the perspective of the athlete, referee, coach, dental practitioner and parent.
-- Sports-related Dentofacial Trauma Associated with Cervical Spine Injuries and Sports-related Dentofacial Injuries Associated with Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhages - Robert Gassner M.D., D.M.D., from the University of Innsbrook and visiting associate professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, will present research findings from two studies. The first study examines the relationship between dentofacial injuries and cervical spine injuries in sports related accidents. The second identifies injury patterns predisposing patients with dentofacial trauma for different types of intracranial hemorrhages in sports accidents.
Suzann P. McGeary, D.D.S., assistant professor dental hygiene program, and Deborah Studen-Pavlovich, D.M.D., associate professor and Director of the Predoctoral Pediatric Dentistry Program, will present a poster addressing possible dental consequences of oral piercings in athletes such as abrasions, tooth fractures, mouthguard interactions and soft tissue damage.
-- A New Adjunctive Pressure-Forming Technique for Custom Vacuum-Formed Mouthguards Using a Pressure Hood - Richard Moses, a student at the School of Dental Medicine, will present a poster describing modifications to standard custom fabrication techniques for athletic mouthguards.
-- Spit Tobacco Use in Baseball: A Retrospective Review - Oscar Garcia, a student at the School of Dental Medicine, will present a poster detailing the history of spit tobacco use in baseball, its effect on children and educational and interventional programs used to decrease use.
