Sports Dentistry

Sports dentistry is the prevention and treatment of dental injuries and related oral diseases, as well as the sharing of information and equipment designed to help protect the teeth, mouth, jaw, and face of athletes of all ages. Injuries to the teeth and mouth are common among athletes. It’s important to protect your child’s smile if he or she plays sports, for aesthetics as well as health reasons.

Common Dental Injuries In Sports

Tooth Knocked Out:

  • Time is the most important factor when trying to save a tooth, so get to your dentist as soon as possible. In general, there is a 30-minute window of opportunity to re-implant the tooth in the socket.
  • Do not try to re-implant the tooth yourself.
  • The best liquid to transport a tooth in is cold milk. If milk is not available, use saliva (if possible), saline, or if nothing else is available, water.
  • Don’t let the tooth dry out and don’t wrap it in anything.
  • Don’t touch the tooth root if you can avoid it.

Tooth Chipped/Cracked:

  • Your dentist will likely use an X-ray of the tooth to determine the treatment necessary.
  • For a serious chip that exposes the pulp of the tooth, get to your dentist as soon as possible.
  • If a tooth is chipped or cracked, sometimes the tooth can be fixed with a filling or bonding alone.
  • Sometimes a tooth is cracked or chipped in a way affecting the nerve of the tooth, and a more complicated treatment may be needed.

Tooth Displaced:

  • If a tooth is moved due to trauma, see your dentist as soon as possible.
  • Do not try to move the tooth back on your own.
  • For any mouth discomfort before you get to the dentist, apply ice.

Sports Mouthguards

Mouth guards are customized devices worn over the teeth to protect them from injury. Unlike dental splints, which are orthodontic devices used to treat conditions such as teeth-grinding (bruxism), snoring or sleep apnea, mouth guards are used primarily to protect the teeth and braces during athletic or recreational activities. Effective mouth guards should be comfortable, durable, easy to clean, and allow the wearer to breathe and speak normally.

Reasons for Mouth Guards

Any individual, child or adult, who engages in contact sports, such as football, hockey, boxing or lacrosse, or participates in any activity in which the mouth is vulnerable to injury, such as bicycling or skateboarding, is advised to wear a mouth guard.

The reason for wearing a mouth guard during such activities is to diminish the risk to the teeth, tongue, jaw, gums, and nerves of the area. Without a mouth guard, anyone who is physically active runs increased risk of chipping, breaking or losing a tooth, injuring the soft tissue of the mouth, and damaging or even fracturing the jaw.

Mouth guards are especially helpful in protecting dental or orthodontic appliances. Braces and fixed bridge work can be damaged during sports encounters and require expensive repair or replacement. Even worse, a setback in treatment can occur as injuries heal and equipment is repaired or refitted. Although it may seem contradictory, patients are advised to remove orthodontic retainers or headgear during sports.

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