He shoots… he hits his teeth on the rim of the hoop! It might not be what you expect when you’re watching a good game, but dental injuries commonly occur during sports related activity. These accidents happen all too often for us to refer to them as “freakish.” Luckily, there’s much to be done by way of prevention! If you or your child competes in a sport (not even necessarily contact!) follow these tips to help prevent dental injury!

• 40% of dental and facial injuries in children result from sports related accidents. Children are most susceptible to this type of injury between the ages of 7 and 11.

• If your sport requires any sort of protective equipment, wear it! Taking off a hockey mask while in the rink, even if only for a few minutes, leaves you completely vulnerable to serious dental injury.

• For sports that don’t require face masks, but still put you at risk for dental injury (basically anything other than golf) use a mouthguard! If you’ve never experienced a dental injury you may feel a mouthguard is unnecessary. However, it only takes one unfortunate occurrence for you to suffer serious damage to your teeth and mouth.

  • If you think it sounds appropriate, ask your dentist about a custom fit, in-office made mouthguard.

  • Otherwise, there are mouthguards that you boil and shape to your bite at home.

• Always let your dentist know when you or your child begins a new sport. They may be able to offer some personalized advice that caters to a particular sport.

Call Dr. Bosse of Greenspoint Dental. We’re the winning team when it comes to treating dental injuries!