Abstract
Introduction: Gaelic football, Camogie, Hurling, Handball and Rounders collectively known as Gaelic games, are popular sports played in Ireland, with an increasing following worldwide. Information within the literature on longitudinal dental injury trends sustained whilst playing Gaelic games has been limited to date. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), who govern the sports, have taken considerable steps to ensure players safety is maintained through various rule changes in the form of compulsory protective equipment wear and the availability of an injuries benefit insurance scheme. However, the impact of such legislative changes remains unexamined.
Aim: To evaluate the impact of the compulsory use of personal protective equipment (PPE) on the incidence of dental injuries in Gaelic games.
Method: A literature review was undertaken to explore the use of personal protective equipment in Gaelic Games and then a review of the open-access Gaelic Athletic Association Annual Reports from 2005-2019 were reviewed to obtain annual injury benefit fund claim data.
Results: A total of 4617 dental injuries were reported throughout 2005-2019. There was a statistically significant reduction in dental injuries following the introduction of mandatory PPE use in Gaelic games (p = 0.0053).
Conclusions: The incidence of dental injuries in Gaelic games is decreasing steadily since the mandatory introduction of helmets and mouthguards. Compulsory wearing of mouth guards in hurling and camogie will reduce dental injuries further. This rule change will certainly reduce injury benefit claims and prevent associated morbidity for players.