Dentists– like the nearby dentists in Cary NC and the farther off dentists in Dublin CA know– high impact sports can do damage to your children’s mouths. While it’s true enamel is the hardest substance in the body, your young athlete’s teeth are still susceptible to damage or even falling out. In the US, nearly $500 million are spent on teeth replacements every year, many of those losses are sports related.
Not only are mouth injuries costly, they also affect a child’s confidence. While sports can often be confidence boosting, a lisp and a broken smile can severely diminish your child’s self-image at an age when insecurities are high. The dentists and orthodontists in Dublin CA at All in One Dental Innovations are all too familiar with the negative impact of imperfections in one’s smile– both on one’s self image and one’s oral health. Missing teeth can cause teeth to shift, which leads to greater exposure to gum disease and malocclusions (distortions in one’s bite shape) which can cause speech difficulties and jaw pain.
Teeth implants– like the Cary NC dental implants at Alliance Dentistry— are an all too common necessity. One dentist office’s study measures that 62% of oral injuries are sustained while a patient is participating in an unorganized sport. Another study, conducted on high school varsity basketball players, revealed that 31% of players sustained orofacial injuries during the season, and 53% of them reported more than one such injury. Fewer than half of the players studied wore mouthguards on a regular basis.
Many schools do not require or supply mouthguards for players. However, many local dentists can fit your young athlete and supply him/her with a mouthguard need be. This is a common practice for dental professionals, be they dentists here in DC and MD, dentists in Cary NC, or dentists in Dublin CA. The cost of a mouthguard fitting is a sound investment, as it is much cheaper than a dental implant down the line.
Sports are a great way to keep your kids healthy, once you keep them properly protected. Keep them going to the dentist regularly and keep them fitted for fresh, clean mouthguards. This will significantly reduce the risk of needing oral surgery down the line. It’s a great way to protect your young athlete’s winning smile.
