Received: 7 December 2020 | Revised: 10 March 2021 | Accepted: 11 March 2021 DOI: 10.1111/edt.12675 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Attitudes and opinions towards the prevention of orofacial injuries among water polo coaches in Catalonia: A cross- sectional study Natalia Iglesias- Porqueras1 | Carla Zamora- Olave1,2 | Eva Willaert1,2 | Jordi Martinez- Gomis1,2 1Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Abstract Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Background/Aim: Although orofacial injuries are frequent in water polo, fewer than Barcelona, Spain 2Oral Health and Masticatory System 10% of players use mouthguards. The aim of this study was to determine the degree Group (Bellvitge Biomedical Research to which coaches and sports club managers encourage mouthguard use in water polo Institute) IDIBELL, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain and to explore their opinions regarding other strategies designed to reduce the preva- lence of orofacial injuries. Correspondence Jordi Martinez- Gomis, Campus de Material and Methods: This was a cross- sectional study in which the coaches and Bellvitge, C/ Feixa Llarga s/n, 08907 sports club managers of 16 water polo clubs in Catalonia were invited to participate. L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. An online questionnaire was administered to the coaches to obtain general data, to Email:
[email protected] determine whether they had recommended mouthguard use to their players and to record their opinions on other strategies designed to reduce the prevalence of oro- facial injuries. Sports club managers were interviewed about the facilities offered by their clubs for players to obtain mouthguards and about their attitudes regarding the prevention of orofacial injuries.