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Risk Assessment

Low Velocity Non-Contact Sports — Refers to golf, skiing, weight lifting, running, swimming and others where the athletes perform individually at a reasonable speed without contact with others. The risk of dental injury is low.

High Velocity Non-Contact Sports — When “non-contact” athletes move at high rates of speed, accidents can occur. Examples are bicycling, skateboarding, cricket and skiing. These accidents can be some of the most complicated and severe.

Contact Sports — Characterized by frequent body to body or body to equipment (ball) contact. Contact is incidental to the game, not a requirement. Examples of this are basketball, soccer and baseball.

Collision Sports — Contact is an intended and critical part of the game. Examples are football and boxing. Without protection, they are most likely to result in oral-facial injuries, making the case for the use of protective devices, which show the best success when used.