When it comes to sports, all athletes need to know how to assess their risk for experiencing a sports-related injury as well as how to prevent one. The first step to accomplish this is learning how sports and activities are classified, as they define risks from little-to-no chance of injury to highly susceptible for injuries. These categories include:

• Low velocity, non-contact sports: These sports and activities have the lowest risk, as they typically include sports where the athletes perform individually at reasonable speed without physical contact. Examples include: golf, Nordic skiing, weight lifting, running and swimming.
• High velocity, non-contact sports: These sports and activities are those where athletes move at high rates of speed but with no contact with other participants. While there is no contact, anytime you are moving at high rates of speed, accidents can happen. Examples include: bicycling, motocross, skateboarding, skiing and snowboarding.
• Contact sports: As the title states, these sports and activities include frequent body-to-body contact or body to equipment (e.g., a ball, glove, etc.) contact. Examples include: basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball.
• Collision sports: With these sports and activities, strong, forceful, body-to-body or body-to-equipment contact is a primary goal of the sport. Examples include football, ice hockey, rugby, and boxing. Without the proper protective head and mouth gear, participants are highly likely to experience an oral-facial and/or head injury.

The good news is that you can dramatically reduce the odds of serious dental and oral-facial injury by ensuring that you wear a professionally made mouthguard in addition to a helmet, facemask, or other protective gear that is appropriate to the sport. This is especially true if you participate in the high velocity, contact and collision categories. These simple steps can help reduce worries for not only players, but also for parents, caregivers and coaches. For more information, read, “An Introduction To Sports Injuries & Dentistry.” You can also download a FREE, pocket-sized guide for managing dental injuries.

Every parent, caregiver, coach, sports fan and especially injured party dreads the moment when an injury to the mouth occurs during a sporting event. The first thought observers have after looking closely to see if it is their child or someone they know is, “I hope someone knows what to do!” Do you know what to do in case of a dental sports emergency? Test your dental injury IQ with this simple, quick quiz. The answers are listed at the bottom of this article.

Dental Injury IQ

1. If a tooth (including its root) is totally knocked out, what can you safely store it in while finding a dentist within 5 minutes of the injury?
1. Water or salt water
2. Milk (preferably cold)
3. Inside the cheek (mouth) of the injured person
4. All of the above
2. True or False: Immediately following the injury, fresh cold tap water or bottled water is the best way to remove debris from where a tooth was knocked out.
3. If a tooth has shifted from its original position following an injury, you should...
1. See a dentist within 5 minutes
2. See a dentist within 6 hours
3. See a dentist within 12 hours
4. Only see a dentist if the tooth is not better in a few days
4. True or False: You treat a knocked out baby tooth in the same manner as you do a permanent tooth.
5. The most important thing to do to save a tooth that has been completely knocked out of the mouth is to…
1. See a dentist as soon as possible
2. Replant the tooth within 5 minutes
3. Stop the bleeding before re-planting the tooth
4. Rinse the tooth with fresh, clean water

The Answers

1) d = all of the above, 2) true, 3) b = see a dentist within 6 hours, 4) false – baby teeth are typically not replanted, 5) b = replant the tooth within 5 minutes

Want To Learn More?

Contact us today to discuss your questions or to schedule an appointment. You can also learn more about treating dental injuries when you read the Dear Doctor article, “The Field-Side Guide To Dental Injuries.” Or, you can download a FREE, pocket-sized guide for managing dental injuries.

Witnessing or being involved in a sports-related dental injury can be a scary event not only for the player, but also for onlookers even if the injuries turn out to be minor. However, knowing what to do — and more importantly — how quickly to react can make a radical difference to the outcome. This is just one reason why we want to share the following easy-to-remember guidelines for what, how and when you need to respond to various types of dental injuries.

• Immediate — within 5 minutes of the injury: If a permanent tooth is totally knocked out (avulsed), it requires immediate treatment by cleaning and re-implanting the tooth back into its original position to have any hope of saving the tooth long-term. Knocked out baby (primary) teeth are not reimplanted for fear of damage to underlying permanent teeth.
• Urgent — within 6 hours of the injury: If a permanent or primary tooth is still in the mouth but has been moved from its original position, it is considered an acute injury and should be treated within 6 hours.
• Less urgent — within 12 hours of the injury: If a permanent or primary tooth is broken or chipped but has not shifted from its original position, the injury is classified as less urgent. You still need to see a dentist for an exam; however, you generally can wait up to 12 hours before possible irreversible damage occurs.

Want To Learn More?

There are several ways you can learn more about sports-related dental injuries.

• Read the Dear Doctor article, “The Field-Side Guide To Dental Injuries.”
• Download and print the FREE quick reference guide
• Or if you have a traumatized, damaged, chipped or missing tooth from a sports or any other type of injury, contact us to discuss your situation or to schedule an appointment.