Sports dentistry in the spotlight

The Gaelic Players Association launched its Oral Health Awareness Programme last month with a well-received training day for Irish dentists.
Dr Tony Clough, chief dental officer for the London 2012 Olympics and the International Olympic Committee’s dental adviser, lead the day with a discussion on sports dentistry.
Opro, the official mouthguard partner of the Gaelic Athletics Association/GPA, also addressed the crowd at Croke Park about the manufacture of custom-fit mouthguards.
The course was a hit with Dr Brenda Barrett, who said: ‘I’m not a fan of giving up my Saturday for a dental course, but it was really worth it to hear Tony present.’
One of the aims of the GPA programme is to prevent sporting-related orofacial injuries.
‘Our objective is to change inter-county players’ attitudes towards the importance of oral health, not only from a general health perspective but also from a sports performance perspective,’ said GPA sports dentistry adviser Dr John Haughey.
‘The aim is to have inter-county players value their oral health so that they attend a dental exam before the start of each season to have their oral health assessed.’