Playing sports is a great way to maintain physical activity and enjoy time with friends. However, playing sports can sometimes lead to injuries, with sports-related dental injuries being particularly common. Understanding these injuries and learning how to prevent them can help athletes protect their smiles while playing their favorite sports.
At Hendersonville Family Dental, we know that unexpected dental injuries can be frustrating to deal with. However, when these injuries are a result of playing sports, there are several things you can do to prevent them from occurring in the first place. If you want to learn more about the most common sports-related dental injuries and how to prevent them, keep reading.
What Sports Can Cause Dental Injuries?
Whether you’re signing yourself or your child up for sports, you might not consider whether you’re risking sports-related dental injuries by playing. However, sports-related dental injuries are incredibly common among a variety of sports. If you or your child partakes in contact sports, like football, soccer, rugby, hockey, or lacrosse, you might be at risk of sports-related dental injuries. Although dental injuries are most common among individuals who play contact sports, they can occur in others as well. Partaking in individual sports like boxing, martial arts, skateboarding, and bike riding may also lead to sports-related dental injuries.
Common Sports-Related Dental Injuries
When you choose to partake in sports, there are a variety of injuries that may occur. Most often, these injuries occur as a result of direct collisions with other players or unexpected hits from sports equipment. When these injuries occur, it is best to reach out to a dentist as soon as possible to begin treatment.
Failing to properly address sports-related dental injuries may result in long-term consequences to the teeth. When children receive sports-related dental injuries, they may need orthodontic treatment to address and remedy these problems. For adults, a lack of proper treatment may result in total loss of the tooth.
If you’ve been in a sports accident and you believe you’ve damaged one of your teeth, some of the most common injuries include:
Chipped or Cracked Teeth
Of all of the sports-related dental injuries, chipped or cracked teeth are by far the most common injuries you may receive. The degree of severity may vary greatly, ranging from minor chips to more severe cracks across the tooth. However, no matter how minor the injury is, it can still have a significant impact on your day-to-day life, making tasks like talking and eating increasingly uncomfortable.
Root Fractures
If your face is hit just right while playing your sport, you may experience a fractured root. Unlike cracks, which move horizontally across the tooth, a root fracture moves from the occlusal, or chewing surface, of your tooth toward the root. If you experience a root fracture, your dentist will likely recommend a root canal to help remedy the fracture. Failing to treat a root fracture may result in tooth loss.
Lost Teeth
While it isn’t too common, some sports-related dental injuries may result in knocking the tooth out. If this occurs, it is absolutely essential that you reach out to your dentist as soon as possible. As more time passes, the likelihood of restoring your tooth becomes slimmer and slimmer. If you lose your tooth, you may either gently place it back into the socket until your appointment or you can wrap the tooth in gauze and submerge it in milk until your appointment.
Tooth Intrusion
In some cases, your tooth may be knocked back into the jawbone, also known as a tooth intrusion. This injury is far more common in children with baby teeth, as their bones are far softer. If this occurs, it is best to reach out to your dentist as soon as possible. They will need to reposition the tooth to prevent damage to your adult teeth.
How to Avoid Sports-Related Dental Injuries
While you might be worried about receiving a dental injury, avoiding them is far easier than you may realize. If you want to keep yourself or your child safe from a sports-related injury, consider incorporating the following into practices and games:
Mouth Guard
One of the easiest ways to keep your teeth safe from injury while partaking in sports is by using a mouth guard. Mouth guards act as a cushion for your teeth, preventing damage from occurring in the first place. These should be relatively easy to find. There are both over-the-counter mouth guards and custom-made mouth guards available for purchase, making them an easy way to save your mouth from long-term damage.
Helmets
While helmets are not used in every contact sport, they still do an incredible job of preventing dental injuries. They act as the first line of defense when sports equipment, balls, and other players may otherwise cause harm to your teeth. If you are playing a sport that allows you to wear a helmet, you should always opt to wear one to ensure your teeth are safe from damage.
Check-Ins with Your Dentist
Whether you’ve been in a sports accident or not, attending regular dental check-ins is a great way to monitor the well-being of your teeth. You aren’t necessarily going to feel pain from all dental injuries until they’re more substantial. By attending regular cleanings and exams with your dentist, they can spot minor injuries and damage to your teeth, making suggestions to ensure these are treated appropriately and promptly.
Emergency Dental Care in Hendersonville, NC
If you’ve recently experienced a sports-related dental injury, it is essential that you work with a trustworthy dental team, like our team at Hendersonville Family Dental. With years of experience helping patients across the Hendersonville, NC, area treat dental injuries, we’re confident that we’re the right choice for your dental journey as well. From dental cleanings to cosmetic dentistry and everything in between, we provide a variety of services to ensure we meet every patient’s needs. If you would like to schedule an appointment with our team to address a dental injury, don’t hesitate to contact our team.
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