Sport Safety: Protecting Your Child’s Mouth and Teeth

Summer sports are in full swing with soccer and baseball taking center stage for kiddos and parents alike. Kids across the Valley are enjoying their warm summer vacation and teaming up with friends to participate in local city leagues and school camps. Before you know it, fall sports will be upon us, too. With hockey and football to look forward to, the topic of dental health is likely a major concern for parents. Now is the perfect time to talk about sport safety and your child’s health and well-being. Little Heroes Dentistry, with locations in Laredo, Mission, and San Juan, is here to help you and your child tackle any sport season with the best sport safety tips and equipment to protect her growing teeth. Whether your child is participating in a local league or in a school team, we can ensure that she’ll be ready to beat the competition with confidence.

Why Sport Safety Matters

It is all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right? Recreational and school sports are primary sources for exercise and entertainment among the youth, but they are also a major source for injuries. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims that more than 2.6 million children under 19 years of age suffer sport injuries severe enough to warrant emergency-room treatment.

On that note, the Journal of International Society of Preventative Community Dentistry says sports activities are responsible for 13% of overall oral trauma in children. Click To Tweet

The frequency of mouth and facial injuries has become a topic of interest lately, as other studies show that between 13 and 39% of all dental injuries are sports related.

The risks associated with sports should not deter you from encouraging your little one to play, though. Maintaining a physically active lifestyle at an early age can positively influence the development of your child’s social and organizational skills. Sports teach discipline, competitiveness, and relaxation. Physical fitness in general will boost your child’s health and can help establish a strong foundation for lifelong health goals. Simply knowing how to play it safe on the field may prevent many of the potential mouth and facial injuries that can result from high-impact or contact sports.

Tools for Preventing Mouth and Facial Injuries

In an effort to reduce the prevalence of dental and facial injuries in youth sports, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry suggests the use of appropriate protective gear. The use of helmets and mouthguards should be enforced by parents, coaches, volunteers, and other paid professionals involved in youth sports.

Helmets.

Full size helmets and face protectors are recommended for children participating in speed and impact or collision sports. This type of gear should be fitted correctly to offer the best protection. Full facial protection should be used in combination with mouth guards.

Mouth Guards.

Not all high-impact sports incorporate helmets in game, and that is where mouthguards comes in. In fact,
wearing a mouthguard during a sporting event or practice is the best and easiest way to protect against a physical hazard. Click To Tweet  

In the case of an accident, the guard will soften the blow to the mouth, reducing the chance of a serious fracture. Mouth guards offer a relatively inexpensive method of protecting a child from oral trauma during practices and sporting events.

A pediatric dentist with experience in sports-related dental and facial injuries should be consulted prior to starting the sporting season. Your dentist should be able to discuss what to do in case of a fractured or dislodged tooth. Often, a cracked or broken tooth can be corrected with a filling of material that is just as hard as the original tooth. Depending on the site of the fracture, a tooth can be stabilized with a splint. If a tooth is dislodged, you can keep the tooth and a pediatric dentist may be able to reposition the tooth within an appropriate time.

Get Started With Little Heroes Dentistry Today

Strong and healthy teeth are key in keeping your little hero happy during any sporting season. Click To Tweet  

Protecting her pearly whites from the hazards of sport activities is a group effort involving parents, educators, coaches, and a trusted pediatric dentist near you. Get started with Little Heroes Dentistry today. Call a location near you to schedule an appointment. We are always excited to meet new heroes winning the battle against the Sugarbugs!