Supporting a World Rugby and cross-institutional university research project

Smile Together’s Managing Director, Jonathan Bouwer-Davies, has extended his support to an important academic research project funded by World Rugby, with the ultimate aim of reducing the risk to players involved in high-impact sports.

As part of a collaborative effort between the University of Exeter, Swansea University and Leeds Beckett University, the women’s first rugby team from Exeter is actively participating in a research study focused on gaining a deeper understanding of concussion injuries in women’s rugby. Throughout the current season, all players are wearing instrumented mouthguards, which allow for the measurement of head impact magnitude during games. By combining this data with video analysis, the research team hopes to identify the aspects of play that carry the highest risk of brain injury. The insights gained from this study will serve as a scientific foundation for the development of effective brain injury prevention strategies for female players at this competitive level.

Given the scarcity of research in women’s rugby, this project holds significant value. It will contribute valuable longitudinal data to establish threshold metrics for future studies and enhance our understanding of the impact of concussive acceleration on both short and long-term brain health.

The instrumented mouthguards used in this study are specifically designed to measure acceleration resulting from collisions and impacts. However, precise fitting is essential to ensure their accurate functionality, and this is where Jonathan’s expertise comes into play. In response to the research team’s need for dental assistance in fitting the mouthguards, a call for help was made via social media. Fortunately, Jonathan received the request and willingly offered his support.

Jonathan’s involvement in fitting the mouthguards resolves a crucial challenge for the research team, enabling them to advance their work. His contributions will undoubtedly play a vital role in advancing our understanding of player safety in women’s rugby and developing effective measures to prevent brain injuries.

He said: “It is great to be able to contribute my time to such an important research project. Smile Together is an employee-owned dental CIC and certified B Corporation and this is just the sort of work we’re keen to be involved with”.

The study lead, Dr Elisabeth Williams from Swansea University said “We are immensely grateful to Jonathan for his invaluable support in our research project. His expertise and dedication in fitting these instrumented mouthguards have overcome a critical challenge. Jonathan’s contribution ensures all mouthguards are well-coupled to the teeth, which is necessary to record reliable data about the head impacts sustained by the players. His involvement has been pivotal in advancing our study and we extend our heartfelt thanks to Jonathan for his generous assistance and commitment to this important endeavour.”

For more information please see https://www.world.rugby/the-game/player-welfare/research/funded-studies