Objective:

To estimate the prevalence of maxillofacial trauma (MT) during sporting activities and to compare the level of knowledge and use of mouthguard (MG) by athletes from the public andprivate school system of São Luís, MA, Brazil.

Material and Methods:

Cross-sectional study in which a target population composed of 416 competition student athletes aged between 10 and 20 years of both genders, basketball (n=100), handball (n=60), soccer (n=96), judo (n=11), karate (n=22) and volleyball (n=127) players were interviewed by a single examiner. A structured questionnaire containing six objective questions about history of MT, knowledge and use of MG was used. Data were statistically analyzed using the x2 test (α= 0.05).

Results:

A 26% prevalence of MT was observed in the study population. The knowledge of MG as a method for preventing injuries during sport practice was significant (p<0.05); however, its use by athletes was minimal. A difference in the use of MGby athletes from public and private schools was observed (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

It was concluded that more than one fourth of the study population was affected by some kind of MT, highlighting dichotomy between the knowledge of MG as prevention method and its non-use during sporting practice