Play It Safe: Wear Mouthguards to Protect Teeth

April is National Facial Protection Month, and Orthodontist Dr. Craig Menker
wants to remind parents, coaches and athletes to play it safe as they prepare to suit up for recreational and organized sports.

A child’s mouth and face can be easily injured if the proper precautions are not used while playing sports. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, more than half of the 7 million sports—and recreation-related injuries that occur each year are sustained by youth as young as age 5. Last year, The National Youth Sports Safety Foundation forecasted that more than 3 million teeth would be knocked out in youth sporting events—yet, in a survey commissioned by the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), 67 percent of parents admitted that their child does not wear a mouth guard during organized sports. This raises a question: if mouth guards offer a simple and inexpensive solution to help dramatically decrease the risk of oral injuries, why aren’t more kids wearing them?

The AAO found that 84% of children do not wear mouth guards while playing organized sports because they are not required to wear them, even though they are required to wear other protective materials such as helmets and shoulder pads. Mouth guards can be one of the least expensive pieces of protective equipment available, with a simple over-the-counter version costing as little as $5. Not only do mouth guards save teeth, they help protect jaws. Children wearing braces have slightly higher risk of oral injuries, including mouth lacerations, if they are hit in the mouth by a ball or another player. An orthodontist can recommend the best mouth guard for an athlete who wears braces.

“Each year I see a significant number of children with dental injuries that resulted from failure to wear a mouth guard,” Dr. Craig Menker, orthodontist in Warren Township, said. “I urge parents and coaches to require mouth guards as part of a child’s uniform—for every practice and every game.”

In the event of a dental injury, Dr. Craig Menker offers these tips:

Broken tooth

• Clean the injured area and apply ice.
• Save the tip of the tooth (for possible reattachment) and call your dentist right away.

Knocked out tooth

• Locate the tooth; hold it by the crown (the wide part, not the pointed end/root)
• Avoid rubbing the root or touching it.
• Rinse the tooth only if there is a need to remove debris.
• Put the tooth back in its socket; cover with gauze or tissue and bite down to stabilize it. Or briefly store the tooth in cold milk or salt water, or between the cheek and gum.
• Do not let the tooth dry out. A tooth may be saved if cared for properly and reimplanted within an hour.
• See your dentist immediately.

An educational flier on first aid for dental trauma, “Prevent Accidents, but Know What to Do If One Occurs” can be downloaded from the AAO’s website at www.MyLifeMySmile.org/downloads.