How to Handle a Dental Emergency While Participating in Sports

If you play sports competitively, you risk getting hurt while competing, which includes the possibility of experiencing a dental emergency. Dentists believe that sports-related dental injuries account for around 30% of all dental injuries. In about 80% of instances, at least one or both front teeth are lost or injured, and the tongue or face region is also hurt. However, athletes who use a mouth guard lessen their risk of soft tissue injuries, including cuts and fractured teeth. By absorbing the energy from a blow to the mouth region, it also guards against concussions and jaw fractures.

Which dental injuries are most frequent among athletes?

Athletes frequently get head and facial injuries when participating in sports, which could lead to dental issues.

Knocked-Out Tooth

We can distinguish the gaps that athletes frequently have from missing teeth simply by watching sports on television. It is because head and facial traumas are frequent, and as a result, many athletes sustain tooth trauma. Find your missing tooth as quickly as possible if it is knocked out. Avoid touching the root and take it by the crown. If you can, rinse it clean and put it back in the socket while gently biting down to keep it in. Until you can get to your dentist's office, place the tooth in a cup of milk (not water), saliva, or mouth near your cheek. Your dentist might still be able to save your tooth if you see them soon enough.

Teeth with broken roots

If you have been hit somewhat hard in the mouth, which directly affects the teeth, you could sustain fractured teeth. In these situations, the crack starts at the tooth's roots and moves upward. You might not experience any signs of a cracked tooth root. Since they are concealed below the gum line, they occasionally don't show until the tooth's pulp becomes infected. To avoid or treat an infection, a patient with a fractured tooth root should receive root canal therapy as soon as possible.

Teeth Invasion

An exceedingly painful disease known as tooth intrusion occurs when the athlete's tooth is forced back into the jawbone. Due to the weaker alveolar bones that support children's tooth sockets than adults, children frequently sustain this damage more regularly. When it comes to primary teeth, the dentist will let the intruded tooth naturally erupt again as long as it doesn't infringe on the adult tooth that is still developing. The dentist will extract the tooth if it does not erupt again. A permanent tooth intruded will also be allowed to discharge again passively. In addition to endodontic treatment, surgical or orthodontic re-eruption therapy can be used if re-eruption does not occur.

Cracked Tooth

A break or crack that starts at the crown and travels down into the tooth is the definition of a cracked tooth. If you have a cracked tooth, you can feel excruciating pain when you bite down, dental discomfort that comes and goes, or sensitivity to hot or cold temperatures. Additionally, you could not have any symptoms at all. Your dentist may fix a crack with a crown, filling, or dental bonding depending on the kind of crack and its severity. A root canal or extraction may be required in complicated situations. 

How can you protect against dental emergencies while participating in sports?

With a custom-made mouth guard, which serves as a barrier between your teeth and gums and protects your teeth from blows to the head or face, many dental emergencies brought on by sports injuries can be avoided. If you play sports or participate in other high-impact physical activities, using a mouthguard while doing so may be very beneficial to you.

Sports safety: mouthguard protection in many forms

Unfortunately, a mouthguard is only sometimes provided as protective equipment when participating in a contact sport. However, when players are not using a mouth guard, oral injuries are most frequently caused. There are three fundamental kinds:

• Although ready to wear, stock mouthguards frequently need to fit correctly. They are available at any sports goods retailer.
• Mouth guards with a prefabricated shape that may so in boiling water are available at any sports goods store.
• Visits to Dental clinics are necessary to receive custom mouthguards. They provide the finest protection and fit.

When a dental emergency arises

The best action is to replace a permanent tooth modification that has been knocked out of its socket. Even if a tooth is knocked out through contact, it can frequently be preserved if you seek emergency dental care right once and take the following actions:

• Find the tooth right away.
• Rinse it off with water if it's soiled.
• Keep the tooth in your hand by the crown, not the roots.
• Reinstall it in the socket (only if a permanent tooth)
• To hold anything in place, gently bite down on a towel or soft object.

Conclusion

Oral crises sometimes occur, but wearing a mouth guard when engaging in certain outdoor activities or contact sports lowers your chance of dental injuries. It is best to call your dentist and make an appointment to have it looked even if a slight mouth injury occurs during a sporting event.