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Posts for tag: dental injuries

By Applewood Dental
March 21, 2014
Category: Oral Health
Tags: dental injuries  
TimingisEverythingWhenitComestoTreatingMouthInjuries

When you or a family member takes a traumatic hit to the mouth, what should you do? Besides immediate first aid, your next action will depend on the extent of damage to any teeth. What you do and when you do it may even determine whether an injured tooth is eventually saved or lost.

If a tooth has been completely knocked out, you have about five minutes to replace the tooth in the socket to give it the best chance of reattachment and long-term survival. While we can certainly perform this action in our office, getting to us within five minutes may not be possible. Fortunately, any person can perform this action on site (see the article linked below for basic instructions on replantation). If for some that's not possible, you should control bleeding at the tooth site with direct pressure, place the recovered tooth in milk or the patient's saliva, and see us as soon as possible.

If, however, the injured tooth has been obviously knocked out of line but not completely detached from its socket, you have a small cushion of time to seek dental treatment — but not much. For this degree of injury, you should see us within six hours of the incident. We will be able to determine the exact nature of the injury, and treat the condition by moving the teeth back into proper position and splinting them.

You have up to twelve hours for broken or chipped teeth still in their normal position. Try to locate and save any broken-off fragments — it may be possible to re-bond them to the teeth. Although it may not be as urgent as other situations, you should still seek treatment as soon as possible. A broken tooth could leave the inner pulp exposed — a situation that left untreated could lead to eventual tooth loss.

Traumatic injuries to the mouth can have serious consequences for your long-term dental health. With our consultation and treatment efforts, we can help you save an injured tooth.

If you would like more information on caring for dental injuries, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “The Field-Side Guide to Dental Injuries.”

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By Applewood Dental
December 19, 2012
Category: Oral Health
MouthguardsIsYourChildOrAthleteProtected

Nearly everyone who has ever played a sport, or had a child participate in one, has had that panic-filled moment when they witness an injury. And when you consider that there are more than 22,000 dental injuries each year in children younger than 18 years of age, you see there is fact to backup this concern. This is just one reason why we strongly encourage all of our patients who are involved in activities such as football, soccer, hockey, wrestling, lacrosse, skateboarding, field hockey and more to wear one of our custom-fitted professional mouthguards. It is especially true for basketball and baseball, which are responsible for the largest number of dental injuries.

The following are some key issues to help you understand the importance and advantages mouthguards offer.

Is there a way to determine who is at the highest risk for sports injuries?

Yes there are several. Age, gender, dental anatomy, and the type of sports being played are the four categories used to measure the risks for dental injuries. Young male teens still top the list of most likely to be injured; however, the gap is closing with more females getting involved in sports. Learn which sports or exercise activities made the American Dental Association’s list of recommendations for using a custom mouthguard, when you continue reading “Athletic Mouthguards.”

What's the difference between a “boil and bite” mouthguard and a professionally made mouthguard?

We are often asked this very important question. While some over-the-counter (OTC) mouthguards provide what is advertised as a “custom-fit” to your teeth, it is nowhere near the fit — and thus protection — you receive from our mouthguards that are crafted from precise molds of your teeth. Additionally, because all aspects of our mouthguards are tailored to each specific mouth, they provide much more protection and comfort. This important fact can enhance performance as the athlete can literally breathe easier while wearing one of our mouthguards.

What can I do if I witness a dental injury?

The first important fact to know is that you do not have to be a dental or healthcare professional to assist. However, before jumping in to help out, consult Dear Doctor's Field-Side Guide to Dental Injuries. This pocket-sized, quick-reference guide details what you should do at the scene of a dental injury based on the type of injury. But best of all, it is available to you free of charge from Dear Doctor.

Want to know more?

Contact us today to discuss your questions or to schedule an appointment.

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By Applewood Dental
October 11, 2012
Category: Oral Health
DentalInjuriesTheTypeOfSportsYouPlayReallyMatters

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.

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By Applewood Dental
August 23, 2012
Category: Oral Health
Sports-RelatedDentalInjuriesDoYouKnowWhatToDo

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.

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By Applewood Dental
March 02, 2012
Category: Oral Health
TestyourknowledgeHowMuchDoYouKnowaboutMouthguards

We have learned that an important part of oral health is education — but more importantly, making it fun to learn so that you retain (and apply) what you learn! For this reason, we have put together the following self-test so that you can quickly access your knowledge on the subject of mouthguards.

  1. The first sport to use (and require) protective mouthguards was:
    1. football
    2. boxing
    3. baseball
    4. ice hockey
  2. Research conducted by the American Dental Association (ADA) found that individuals are ___ times more likely to damage their teeth when not wearing a mouthguard while engaged in contact sports or rigorous physical exercise.
    1. 10
    2. 20
    3. 40
    4. 60
  3. As a rule of thumb, females do not require mouthguards because they are not as physically active as their male counterparts.
    1. True
    2. False
  4. The American Academy of General Dentistry (AAGD) reports that mouthguards prevent more than ______ injuries to the mouth and/or teeth each year.
    1. 200,000
    2. 300,000
    3. 400,000
    4. 500,000
  5. Which of the following sports or activities does the ADA recommend that participants wear protective mouthguards:
    1. acrobatics
    2. bicycling
    3. handball
    4. all of the above
  6. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that more than ______ sports-related injuries end-up in the emergency room each year with injury or damage to the teeth and mouth.
    1. 275,000
    2. 425,000
    3. 600,000
    4. 735,000
  7. Over-the-counter mouthguards are just as effective as professionally made mouthguards.
    1. True
    2. False
  8. In addition to the trauma of having a tooth (or teeth) knocked out, individuals who have suffered from this type of injury may end up spending ______ per tooth over a lifetime for teeth that are not properly preserved and replanted according to the National Youth Sports Foundation for Safety.
    1. $10,000 to $20,000
    2. $15,000 to $25,000
    3. $25,000 to $35,000
    4. Less than $10,000

Answers: 1) b, 2) d, 3) b, 4) a, 5) d, 6) c, 7) b, 8) a

You can learn more about the importance of mouthguards when you continue reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Athletic Mouthguards.” And if you have already experienced a dental injury, it may not be too late. However, we need to evaluate the damage so that we can establish a plan for restoring optimal oral health. Contact us today to learn more about protecting your mouth and teeth or to schedule an appointment.

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