As the summer winds its way down there are numerous signs that fall is approaching. One of these signs is the beginning of the school sports season. This is an exciting time especially as the Auburn Maroon Football team looks to defend their state championship. This is also the beginning of the time of year where my colleagues and I will surely see emergency medical conditions that are very much preventable.
The most common sports injury that occurs is a dental injury. The sad truth is that many of these injuries could have been prevented by use of a properly constructed mouthguard.
A study was done in 1995 which looked at the incidence of sports injuries for both male and female athletes. The study compared injuries of football players to injuries in other sports. The study examined what percentage of injuries that happened were orofacial injuries. In football where mouthguards are routinely worn the amount of orofacial injuries was 0.7 percent of the total injuries. In basketball were mouthguard use is sporadic the total was 34 percent. That is an eye opening figure.
The term mouthguard encompasses a great number of products. The present figures show that 90 percent of mouthguards in use today are the types that are purchased at a sporting goods store or drug store. Ten percent are the type diagnosed and fabricated by either a dentist or an athletic trainer.
Many times mouthguards are purchased from a store and made but then rarely get worn. Usually the reasons are that they are too bulky, they don't fit well and they interfere with breathing. This can certainly be true of the “boil and bite” mouthguard. The custom fabricated mouthguard is made right to the athlete's teeth and will have a much greater chance of protecting both the teeth and the jaw in a collision.
Just looking at a “boil and bite” mouthguard will allow anyone to see where a false sense of security can be obtained. They look like they wrap around the teeth well but there is minimal thickness of material between the upper and lower teeth. Also, if the “boil and bite” appliance is made with a slope to the bite this will actually help to cause a jaw fracture in a collision to the face. If you were to think of the jaw and teeth as a triangle, two of the points of the triangle are fixed in place by the jaw joints during impact. The two sides by the third point must be even in order to protect the jaw bone during the impact. If the mouthguard is bit into unevenly while making it then when a collision occurs the jaw bone is twisted to one side which will more likely result in a fracture.
The “boil and bite” mouthguard may be the cheapest upfront but consider this interesting statistic. The National Youth Sports Foundation for the Prevention of Athletic Injuries reports that if a tooth is totally knocked out and not properly replanted will face costs during their lifetime approaching $15,000. Not to mention the time spent in the dentist's chair. Also there is the possibility of other dental issues occurring such as periodontal disease.
All of this information should hopefully encourage any athlete to go to their dentist and discuss having a custom fit mouthguard made. The cost to the dentist is not very much so these can be made for patients at a cost which is not much more than the sporting goods store pieces. I hope every athlete has a successful, fun and healthy season and hopefully I won't need to answer any emergency calls for tooth injury.
I would like to thank each and every person who participated in our Smiles for Life campaign. This has been a hugely successful event to raise money for children's charities. Nationwide this campaign has raised nearly $2 million. On a local level, my office is proud to contribute just short of $8,000. Half of the money goes to Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation and half of the money stays locally at the children's charity of our choice. We have chosen the Auburn YMCA Children's Scholarship Fund. To all of those who now have a white smile, the children thank you, and I thank you too.
Dr. Michael K. Keating, DDS, is a dentist in Auburn and can be reached at 252-7278 or e-mail him at DrMike@FingerLakesSmiles.com
A study was done in 1995 which looked at the incidence of sports injuries for both male and female athletes. The study compared injuries of football players to injuries in other sports. The study examined what percentage of injuries that happened were orofacial injuries. In football where mouthguards are routinely worn the amount of orofacial injuries was 0.7 percent of the total injuries. In basketball were mouthguard use is sporadic the total was 34 percent. That is an eye opening figure.
The term mouthguard encompasses a great number of products. The present figures show that 90 percent of mouthguards in use today are the types that are purchased at a sporting goods store or drug store. Ten percent are the type diagnosed and fabricated by either a dentist or an athletic trainer.
Many times mouthguards are purchased from a store and made but then rarely get worn. Usually the reasons are that they are too bulky, they don't fit well and they interfere with breathing. This can certainly be true of the “boil and bite” mouthguard. The custom fabricated mouthguard is made right to the athlete's teeth and will have a much greater chance of protecting both the teeth and the jaw in a collision.
Just looking at a “boil and bite” mouthguard will allow anyone to see where a false sense of security can be obtained. They look like they wrap around the teeth well but there is minimal thickness of material between the upper and lower teeth. Also, if the “boil and bite” appliance is made with a slope to the bite this will actually help to cause a jaw fracture in a collision to the face. If you were to think of the jaw and teeth as a triangle, two of the points of the triangle are fixed in place by the jaw joints during impact. The two sides by the third point must be even in order to protect the jaw bone during the impact. If the mouthguard is bit into unevenly while making it then when a collision occurs the jaw bone is twisted to one side which will more likely result in a fracture.
The “boil and bite” mouthguard may be the cheapest upfront but consider this interesting statistic. The National Youth Sports Foundation for the Prevention of Athletic Injuries reports that if a tooth is totally knocked out and not properly replanted will face costs during their lifetime approaching $15,000. Not to mention the time spent in the dentist's chair. Also there is the possibility of other dental issues occurring such as periodontal disease.
All of this information should hopefully encourage any athlete to go to their dentist and discuss having a custom fit mouthguard made. The cost to the dentist is not very much so these can be made for patients at a cost which is not much more than the sporting goods store pieces. I hope every athlete has a successful, fun and healthy season and hopefully I won't need to answer any emergency calls for tooth injury.
I would like to thank each and every person who participated in our Smiles for Life campaign. This has been a hugely successful event to raise money for children's charities. Nationwide this campaign has raised nearly $2 million. On a local level, my office is proud to contribute just short of $8,000. Half of the money goes to Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation and half of the money stays locally at the children's charity of our choice. We have chosen the Auburn YMCA Children's Scholarship Fund. To all of those who now have a white smile, the children thank you, and I thank you too.
Dr. Michael K. Keating, DDS, is a dentist in Auburn and can be reached at 252-7278 or e-mail him at DrMike@FingerLakesSmiles.com
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