Pediatric Dentistry of Garden City
516-222-5100
January is National Skating Month! Although skating can be a fun activity, like other sports it can be dangerous to your teeth and jaw. Wearing a mouth guard when skating or playing hockey can help prevent dangerous and painful injuries.
A mouth guard is a soft plastic or laminate device used in sports to prevent oral injuries to the teeth, mouth, cheeks, tongue and jaw. The American Dental Association projects that one third of all dental injuries are sports related. The use of a mouth guard can prevent more than 200,000 oral injuries to the mouth each year (ColgateProfessional.com).
The types of dental injuries that can occur without the use of a mouth guard are chipped or broken teeth, fractured crowns or bridgework, lip and cheek injuries, root damage to the teeth, fractured jaws, and concussions (ColgateProfessional.com). All athletes are at risk for oral injury. Most dental and facial injuries can be prevented with the use of a mouth guard.
The National Youth Sports Foundation for the Prevention of Athletic Injuries, reports several interesting statistics provided by SportsDentistry.com: Dental injuries are the most common type of oral facial injuries sustained during participation in sports. Victims of tooth avulsions who do not have the teeth properly preserved or replanted will face lifetime dental costs estimated from $10-15,000 per tooth, the inconvenience of hours spent in the dental chair and possibly other dental problems.
A study of high school athletes found that seventy-five percent of injuries occurred when mouth guards were not worn and forty percent occurred during baseball and basketball- but this doesn’t mean hockey players and ice skaters are off the hook! Nine percent of all athletes suffered some type of oral injury while another three percent reported a loss of consciousness. Fifty-six percent of all concussions were suffered when mouth guards were not worn. Trauma related to sports is more prevalent than previously reported, (ColgateProfessional.com).
Mouth guard design and fabrication is extremely important. There are four types of mouth guards according to the dental literature: Stock, Boil and Bite, Vacuum Custom made, and Pressure Laminated Custom made.
It is essential to educate the public that “stock” and “boil and bite” mouth guards bought at sporting goods stores do not provide the optimum treatment expected by the athlete. These ill-fitting mouth guards cannot deal with idiosyncrasies athletes and children may have. If everyone had the same dentition; were of the same gender; played the same sport under the same conditions; had the same experience and played the same position at the same level of competition, and were the same age and same size mouth, with the same number and shape of teeth, prescribing a standard mouth guard would be simple. This is the precise reason why mouth guards bought at sporting goods stores, without the recommendation of a qualified dentist, should not be worn (SportsDentistry.com).
Erupting teeth, which usually occur between the ages of 6 and 12, should be noted so the mouth guard can be designed to allow for eruption during the season. Boil and bite mouth guards do not allow for this eruption space.
For patients with braces, special designs for the mouth guards are essential to allow for orthodontic movement without compromising on injury prevention and fit. This can only be achieved through consultations with your dentist.
Schedule an appointment today with Dr. Reynolds at Pediatric Dentistryof Garden City to ensure your child can enjoy participating in sports while still maintaining a healthy smile. For more information visit PediatricDentistryofGardenCity.com. And don’t forget to get out and celebrate National Skating Month!
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