Orofacial Injuries in Children of Primary Schools in Pilsen

Introduction and aim: The injuries are a common important health problem in childhood and their occurrence is often in relation with sport. The first aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of sport - related injuries in children attending the primary schools and participating in competitive sports and to compare the situation in children with sport activities only at school and in their leisure time. The second aim of the study was concentrated on the prevalence of orofacial injuries in both groups of children. We supposed higher prevalence of injuries in children participating in competitive sports. Methods: Data of the injuries in children has been obtained through the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 11 questions concerning age of child, gender, sport activities, information about injuries and the use of sport-mouthguards. To evaluate the most of the questions the basic descriptive statistic methods in the Microsoft Office Excel were used. The differences in prevalence of injuries between the two groups of children was investigated on the basis of the Pearson's χ2 test (application STATISTICA, StatSoft Czech Republic). Results: Total of 241 children (125 girls and 116 boys) completed the questionnaires and 137 (57%) of them were competitive athlets. The soccer was the most favourite kind of sport in children.102 (42%) children reported sport - related injuries and 22 (9.1%) of them registered trauma of orofacial region. Only 7 (2.9%) children use regularly sports mouthguards. The statistically significant differences in the occurrence of sport-related injuries between the two groups of children was not detected. Conclusion: In the questionnaire survey, we found that the use of sport-mouthguards in children is minimal. Traumas including injuries of the orofacial region represent the risk not only for children with organised competitive sport activities but also for children doing sports at school and occasionally in their free time