Occlusal Splints in Athletes: A Useful Appliance to Prevent Dental and Temporomandibular Joint Traumas

Background: Rugby is a fast-paced and physical contact sport which has gained popularity across the globe. Injuries are common, with research indicating that the most frequent injuries sustained during rugby match play involve the head and face. Using mouthguards is strongly recommended to reduce the risk of head and facial injuries; Methods: PubMed, Web of Science and Lilacs were systematically searched until 31/01/2023. In addition, a manual search was performed using the bibliography of selected articles and a Google Scholar search. Articles concerning athletes and the mouth guard were considered as inclusion criteria. It was completed, and the articles were read to assess theireligibility; Results: 104 articles were selected. Specifically, 84 articles were found in PubMed, two from Lilacs and 18 from Web of Science. Clinical trials were selected as inclusion criteria. Therefore, three papers that met the inclusion criteria were selected; all the selected studies had and showed the possible influence of mouthguards and rugby athletes; Conclusions: Also, its most advantageous feature is the customized design that follows the correct anatomy of the mouth cavity. If MG use is to increase, more work must be done to improve their comfort. Although athletes will receive silicone rubber mouthguards, scientific advancements in silicone materials are required to increase the mouthguards’ stability and hardness for use in sports.