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Sports Related Dental Injuries

Studies show that more than five million teeth are lost each year due to sports injuries. If you have a dental emergency due to an injury caused while playing sports, we are here for you! Many different dental injuries can occur while playing sports. Two of the most common dental injuries that athletes experience include tooth loss, and a chipped or broken tooth.

Tooth Loss:

One of the most common dental injuries cause when playing sports is losing a tooth. Not only does a missing tooth make you feel embarrassed about your smile, you may also find it harder to chew foods and talk properly. Missing teeth can also affect the health of your mouth and jaw. Since the tooth stimulation helps keep your jaw strong and healthy, missing teeth may lead to jawbone deterioration. This deterioration can negatively affect further dental treatments (such as placing dental implants), as well as changing the shape of your face. Whether your tooth was knocked out when the ball was kicked into your mouth, you collided with another player, or you slid across the ground face first, don't panic, we can help restore your smile. Fortunately, at Oak Ridge Dental Arts, we offer several services to treat missing teeth, including dental implants, dental bridgescosmetic dentistry and more.

Chipped or Broken Tooth:

A chipped or broken tooth is another common dental injury that can be caused in sports. If this occurs, it is important to take immediate action and visit your dentist before the tooth becomes infected or abscessed. Depending on the severity, the nerve and pulp of a tooth can become irritated and infected as a result of cracks, chips, or other trauma to the tooth. If decay or infection reaches the nerve or pulp of the tooth, a root canal will be needed. We provide services to treat and restore chipped or broken teeth at Oak Ridge Dental Arts. These services include cosmetic dentistry, dental crowns, root canal therapy, and more

Preventing Sports Related Dental Injuries

Along with the American Dental Association, we suggest athletes wear a mouth guard when playing sports. A mouth guard will cover up your teeth and protect against many teeth, jaw, tongue and lip injuries. Many sports require players to wear mouth guards, but you should consider wearing a mouth guard even when playing sports that do not require you to wear one. There are many different types of mouth guards, and your dentist can guide you in which type would be best for you and your safety.

If you have experienced a dental injury while playing sports and are seeking treatment to restore your smile, give our team at Oak Ridge Dental Arts a call today and schedule an appointment. We are here for you!