For a lot of kids—and parents—back to school means back to sports. And sports can mean risk of injury to your mouth and teeth, especially contact sports like football, soccer, and field hockey (all fall sports!). Here are a few things you can do to protect your teeth during your favorite sport, and what to do should you sustain an injury to your teeth:
Wear a Helmet With Face Protection
If you’re in a sport that requires the use of helmets, you should obviously be wearing one, and if given the option, you should be wearing one that incorporates a face guard/mouth protection. Professional hockey players, for instance, are often seen wearing helmets without a face guard, or with only a visor—but keeping all your teeth is the best way to look cool, so choose a helmet option with a full face cage or wear additional mouth-protecting face guards.
Wear a Mouthguard
If you’re in a sport with contact of any kind or in a sport where balls or other projectiles move at high speed, you should be wearing a mouthguard. This includes baseball, basketball, football, hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, wrestling, martial arts, boxing, and roller derby, just to name a few. If you have braces, you should also be wearing a mouthguard, if only to protect your mouth from getting cut on your braces during activity.
One of our favorite mouthguards for a variety of sports is the SISU Aero Guard. It’s lightweight, comes in both braces and non-braces versions, is custom-molded to your mouth, and best of all comes with a one-year $35,000 dental warranty, meaning that if you get hit in the mouth while wearing an Aero Guard and need dental work, they’ll cover it up to $35,000. Check it out here: https://www.sisuguard.com/sisu-aero-mouth-guard/
Seek Treatment ASAP if You Lose or Break a Tooth During Sport
The sooner you see a dentist after breaking or knocking out a tooth, the better your outcome will be. Before you get to a dentist, be sure to treat and protect the area. In the case of a chipped tooth, try to keep the chipped part, if you can find it, avoid hot/cold/or sensitivity-causing foods, and cover any sharp tooth edges with dental wax or sugarless gum to keep you from cutting up your tongue or the inside of your mouth. In the case of a lost tooth, keep the tooth and try to keep the socket clean.
Lose a tooth in your last game or match? Give Mogren Dental a call! Our Cerec machine means we can get you a cap or crown in just one visit, so you’ll be back on the field in no time!
