Reed Dental Center likes to support all our teams in the great state of Kansas, from local club teams to college sports teams.  We want to congratulate the Kansas Jayhawks for making it to their 16th Final Four and becoming the NCAA leader in all time wins! Good luck to the Jayhawks in New Orleans this weekend!!!

To keep the sports theme going, I wanted to blog about common dental emergencies we see in sports and why having proper mouth guards are important. 

Every sports fan has seen a favorite athlete take a serious tumble, receive an elbow to the face, or get smacked with a baseball. While it’s one thing to see these unfortunate incidents play out on ESPN, it’s a different matter when you, your son or your daughter is the one facing an injury. While mouth guards remain one of the best ways to reduce the risk of sport-related dental injuries, they are worthless if not used. In one survey conducted by the American Association of Orthodontists, a staggering 67 percent of parents admitted that their child didn’t always wear a mouth guard when playing sports. If that isn’t alarming enough, how about this: Out of the 7 million recreation-related injuries each year, more than half are sustained by children as young as five.

The 5 Most Dangerous Sports for Your Teeth

5. Skateboarding and Other “Thrill Seeking” Sports

This category includes snowboarding and skiing. While these do not involve any contact with opponents, a carelessly planned maneuver can result in contact with the pavement.

4. Boxing, Wrestling, and Marital Arts

It makes sense that if your opponent is throwing a punch at your face, he or she may take out a few incisors with it. Some studies show that more than 50 percent of wrestlers interviewed reported some type of dental injury. Because many of these sports, including martial arts, require the use of mouth guards, dental injuries are not as common as they could be.

3. “Ball and Stick” Games

These include baseball, hockey, lacrosse, and any game involving striking a ball with a stick or bat. While these games may actually account for a larger number of injuries, these injuries are generally not as severe because many of them, such as hockey and lacrosse, require players to wear mouth guards and other protective gear.

2. Football

You’re surprised it isn’t number one, aren’t you? At some point, it probably was. In the 1950s, prior to widespread mouth guard use, 54 percent of football injuries involved teeth. Fast forward 60 years, and the dental injury rate is around 2.8 percent.

1. Basketball

If you’ve ever played a pickup game at the local recreation center or watched the Kansas Jayhawks face an opponent, you understand that basketball is a “no-contact sport” in name only. In one study, men’s basketball counted for roughly 10.6 injuries per 100 athletes—more than three times the amount by football. Women’s basketball also had an exponentially higher rate of injury at 5 incidents per 100 athletes. Next time you watch a professional or college game, take a look at how many athletes are wearing mouth guards. They aren’t used as often as they are in football. In fact, an alarming number of collegiate basketball players have unprotected teeth!

Be prepared for dental emergencies!!!

It’s important to know what you can do to prevent tooth injury and dental emergencies. Of course, before you or your child begins any sport, talk to your dentist about the importance of mouth guards. While they are easily available, the most effective ones will be customized to fit the exact shape of your mouth. Whether you’re a point guard on the varsity team or you’re a weekend warrior, speak to your family dentist about what type of mouth guard would be right for you. 

Our staff at Reed Dental Center can answer any questions you have about mouth guards for every sports fan in your family. We also create custom mouth guards in our office which are the best protection for your teeth. If you are interested in more information about this topic, please email us at info@reeddentalcenter.com