‘Mouthguards will cut injuries by 80%’

A leading surgeon has predicted that the GAA’s decision to make the wearing of mouthguards compulsory as of January 2014 will reduce the number of facial injuries suffered by players by up to 80%.

Cliff Beirne, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at the Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin, also revealed that the new rule, which will apply to all grades in both codes, will cut the number of dental injuries by 60%.

Research figures have indicated that Ireland has one of the highest rates of sport-related oral injuries in the EU, with one-third of all adult dental injuries being sports-related.