Management of sports-related concussions

Mild head injury is a frequent occurrence in a multitude of athletic endeavors across all levels of play. Clinicians should carefully consider all interventions at their disposal to reduce the prevalence and severity of injury to protect those involved. The exploration and evaluation of using properly fitted mouthguards to provide effective, albeit limited, defense against brain injury merits attention. The minimal costs of such an intervention when properly applied would no doubt reap numerous benefits in terms of reducing the medical, financial, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of mild head injury. The cosmetic salvation would be no small side effect to efficacious, properly fitted mouthguard use.