Sports Dentistry

It has been shown that properly fabricated custom made mouth guards by your dentist can reduce the rate of concussion as well as dental and mandibular injuries. Stenger and others have demonstrated in 1962 the reduction of concussions and head and neck injuries as well as reduction in dental facial injuries when the Notre Dame football team wore professionally fabricated custom made mouth guards. Repeated concussions appear to impart cumulative damage, resulting in increased severity and duration with each incident. Therefore it is imperative to diagnose and deliver proper custom-made mouth guards to athletes after an episode of concussion. In football, the chance of having a second concussion is four times greater than the chance of sustaining a first concussion. Catastrophic brain swelling may occur following a second minor head injury in individuals who are still symptomatic from a prior concussion.

Facts from the National Youth Sports Foundation for Safety

Dental injuries are the most common type of orofacial injury sustained during participation in sports; the majority of these dental injuries are preventable. An athlete is 60 times more likely to sustain damage to the teeth when not wearing a protective mouth guard. The cost of a fractured tooth is many times greater than the cost of a dentist diagnosed and designed professionally made mouth guard. Every athlete involved in contact sport has about a 10% chance per season of an orofacial injury, or a 33-56% chance during an athletic career. The cost to replant a tooth and the follow-up dental treatment is about $5000. Victims of knocked out teeth who do not have a tooth properly preserved or replanted may face lifetime dental costs of $15,000-$20,000/tooth, hours in the dental chair, and the possible development of other dental problems such as periodontal disease.

It is estimated that faceguards and mouth guards prevent approximately 200,000 injuries each year in high school and college football. The stock mouth guard, which is bought at sports stores without any individual fitting, provides only a low level of protection, if any. If the wearer is rendered unconscious, there is a risk the mouth guard may lodge in the throat potentially causing an airway obstruction.

Facts about mouth guards

A properly fitted mouth guard reduces the chances of sustaining a concussion from a blow to the jaw. Mouth guards should be worn at all times during competition; in practice as well as in games. Contact your local dental society and association for information on dentists and mouth guard programs in your area. The American Dental Association recommends wearing custom mouth guards for the following sports: acrobats, basketball, boxing, field Hockey, football, gymnastics, handball, ice hockey, lacrosse, martial arts, racquetball, roller hockey, rugby, shot putting, skateboarding, skiing, skydiving, soccer, squash, surfing, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, wrestling.

AVULSION (Entire Tooth Knocked Out)

1. Do not touch the root of the tooth. Handle the tooth by the crown only.
2. Rinse the tooth off only if there is dirt covering it. Do not scrub or scrape the tooth.
3. Attempt to reimplant the tooth into the socket with gentle pressure, and hold it in position.
4. If unable to reimplant the tooth, place it in a protective transport solution, such as Hank's solution, milk, or saline. This will hydrate and nourish the periodontal ligament cells which are still attached to the root. A small container of Hank's Balanced Salt Solution can be purchased in dental emergency kit form at many drug stores. Contact lens solution is not an acceptable storage medium.
5. The tooth should not be wrapped in tissue or cloth. The tooth should never be allowed to dry.
6. Take the child to a dentist or hospital emergency room for evaluation and treatment.
7. Radiographs may need to be taken of the airway, stomach, and mouth if the tooth cannot be found .
8. Tetanus prophylaxis should be considered if the dental socket is contaminated with debris.