Citation

Sane J, Ylipaavalniemi P, Leppanen H. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 1988; 20(2): 202-207.

Affiliation

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Helsinki, Finland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

3367757

Abstract

Maxillofacial and dental ice hockey injuries in Finland were studied during 1979 to 1985. A total of 6,885 accidents occurred to registered players between 1979 and 1982, and 791 (11.5%) of them affected the maxillofacial and dental regions. There were 1,401 separate injuries during the same period, 1,184 of which (84.5%) affected the teeth. The most common cause of accidents (in 54.1% of cases) was a blow received from a stick. Maxillofacial and dental injuries accounted for 38.0% of the total cost of all ice hockey injuries. The mean cost of maxillofacial and dental injuries was over 3 times as high as that for ice hockey injuries as a whole. The use of a mandatory full-cage face mask greatly reduced the number of maxillofacial and dental injuries and hence the cost of treatment.