Shirley,
The NFL congressional hearings on head injury may have promted the NFL to mandate a mouth guard rule. Due to the CBA in the NFL, any mouth guard mandated would have to have medical data and history of use with a subset of its players for the purpose of preventing concussion. No common mouth guard has ever been found to do this in research on humans. A medical protocol found in research, peer reviewed by the Academy of Sports Dentistry, comprised of a majority of NHL team dentists have supported these findings in an 10/09 Journal of Dental Traumatology study. CHUBBS, the workers compensation provider for several NHL teams, has found great savings from fitting and protecting Washinton Capitals/AHL Hershey Bears players with this same protocol, that employs a corrective occlusal splint, similar to a night guard. As a medical benefit provided to team dentists, NHL GM’s and trainers must inquire about this benefit for their teams. Many NHL team dentists have been certified in this protocol, yet athletic trainers and GM’s have not been brought into the loop. We are now deploying this accredited NATA educational information,
Boston’s GM knows of this, yet has only fit a few players. Like the trainer for the N.E. Patriots or the Hershey Bears whose entire team is fit, trainers can now evaluate preseason prior to injury, before the injury occurs. This evaluation has found to be effective in military screenings at Ft. Carson Co.. Soldiers in Afghanistan and in every major sport have found relief from MTBI while protected with this oral appliances. The NHL’s dental or Workers comp will pay for the fittings, why not? For more info on this go to http://www.mahercor.com

Story link

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/42133/mouthguards_key_to_avoiding_becoming_a_drooling_wreck

Posted by steve from boston on 11/11/09 at 08:04 AM ET