Experts have warned that children should be wearing mouth guards to protect against dental injury when participating in school sports.

Researchers led by Margaret O'Malley of Health Service Executive West dental services in Castlebar, Co Mayo, found only 22 per cent of pupils wore mouth guards while playing contact sports.

A study published in the Journal of the Irish Dental Association revealed a lack of information, the absence of mouth guard policy and cost were the main reasons for the relaxed attitude among parents.

Despite one in ten parents claiming their children had been injured while playing basketball, Gaelic football and soccer during the last 12 months, the majority of adults overlooked the benefits of investing in a gumshield.

Of those involved in this type of accident, over half involved damage to teeth and 72 per cent required emergency treatment at an average cost of €214.23.

Ms O'Malley urged parents to invest in a mouth guard as they have been shown to reduce the risk of dental injury by dissipating the impact of a blow evenly throughout the mouth.

Written by Donal Walsh

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