Guidelines for Dental Services at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Sports medicine is related to serious sport-related diseases and injuries, and dental care has been included in the medical services for the Olympic Games since 1932. For a host country organising the Olympic Games, it is very important to understand what dental care should be offered during the games, how many dentists are needed and what kind of specialists should be available. The data regarding dental care from previous Olympic Games a re helpful to estimate the need for dental services in 2008. The protocol for preparing for medical care at the 2012 Olympic Games has been published. However, no detailed information about the guidelines for dental services at the Olympic Games was found from previous data. It is critical for the host city to have guidelines for organising and training the dental team. A guideline and protocol is important for dental diagnostics and treatment during the Olympic Games. The detailed guidelines for dental care at the 2008 Olympic Games are presented in this study. Different parts of these guidelines establish the prescripts for the following: types of dental treatments offered in the 2008 Olympic Games, participants in dental care, equipment and staff for dental care, x-ray examinations, mouthguard programme, working time and after-hours dental service, venue medical care and dental service, and data collection. The prescripts presented formed the protocol for the dental service in the 2008 Olympic Games, and it is planned to provide data to help with future events.