To assess their awareness and usage of mouthguard and occurrence of sports-related oral injuries in athletes who involve in various sports activities in Kota Bharu. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 180 athletes aged 12 to 27 years. A structured interviewer-guided questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence of oral injuries sustained during sport activities, the use of mouthguard as well as the athletes’ awareness of mouthguard use. The respondents consisted of 107 males (59.5%) and 73 females (40.5%) with a mean age of 16.7 years (SD 5.53). There were 60 (22.2%) athletes who had one or more types of sports-related oral injuries sustained. Laceration of lips, tongue and gums were the most frequent injuries (57.5%) while loosening of teeth and fracture of teeth sustained in 12.5% and 10.0% of athletes respectively. Malay traditional martial arts silat athletes, 17(68.0%) experienced the highest oral injuries among athletes. The prevalence of oral injuries was significantly different between ball sports, martial arts and other non-contact sports (p=0.002). Sixty-one athletes (33.9%) reported that they were aware of mouthguard; however none of the athletes used the mouthguards during their sports activities. Malay traditional martial arts silat was the most common susceptible to sustain oral injuries. None of the athletes were wearing mouthguard. Education on prevention of orofacial trauma should be given to the coaches and athletes. Wearing of mouthguard during sport activities should be compulsory during practice and competition events.

The aim of this study was to identify the position of impacted mandibular third molars based on the classifications of Pell & Gregory and Winter, the indications for extraction, and the relation of post-operative complications and position. Records of patients who attended Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia between January and December 2007 for surgical removal of mandibular third molars were reviewed. The angulation type, width and depth of impaction were determined by reviewing the orthopantomograms. The indications of extraction and occurrence of any post- operative complications were recorded. A total of 238 impacted teeth were surgically extracted from 194 patients (97 males, 97 females). The reasons for extraction include recurrent pericoronitis (43.1%) followed by prophylactic purposes (33.5%). Mesioangular impactions accounted for 52.3% and Class IIA position of impaction accounted for 45.7% of extractions. The most common post-operative complication was persistent pain and swelling (14.7%) followed by trismus (4.1%) and dry socket (3.0%). There was no significant relationship between the angulation, width and depth of impaction and the occurrence of complication. Mesioangular type and Class IIA position of impaction were the most common impaction. Although the association was not significant, high frequency of post-operative complications was observed in mesioangular, horizontal, IIA and IIC positions.

Dental caries is an important community dental health problem with limited studies in the mixed dentition stage. The aim of this study was to determine the caries prevalence and treatment needs among 7- 9 year old school children in Kelantan which is situated in North East Malaysia. A retrospective dental record review of fully documented dental records belonging to primary school children attending a paediatric dental clinic was conducted. Dental caries was recorded using dmft index and DMFT index for deciduous teeth and permanent teeth respectively. Three hundred and nineteen dental records of 175 (54.9%) boys’ and 144 (45.1%) girls’ were selected and subjected to a ‘dental record study’. The prevalence of dental caries was 93% (95% CI : 89,97) in primary dentition and 50.5% (95% CI : 42.2, 58.8) in permanent teeth. Mean dmft and DMFT was 6.2(SD 3.39) and 1.04(SD 1.34) respectively. Regarding treatment needs in the primary dentition, 35.4% of teeth needed one surface filling, 34.7% needed extraction, 24.5% needed two or more surfaces filling and 5.6% needed pulp care. In the permanent dentition, 54.7% required sealants and 21.9% required one surface restoration. The caries prevalence and treatment needs were high among this study population in the mixed dentition stage, particularly showing the early involvement of newly erupted permanent teeth. It appears that high caries prevalence in the primary dentition is a risk factor for caries in newly erupted permanent teeth. Oral health promotions programmes are required in the mixed dentition stage and may reduce the risk of caries in permanent dentition.