It is not uncommon for athletes to incur traumatic dental injuries while doing their thing. While dental injury is a risk in almost all types of sports, most dental injuries are acquired in contact sports. As a result, most athletes engaging in contact sports always have to wear protective gear or mouth guards in their mouths to reduce the risk of injuries to their dentine.
In this article, we look at some of the most common dental injuries occurring in sports.
- Avulsion and Subluxation
Avulsion usually occurs when a tooth is knocked out by a strong impact causing the tooth to be dislocated from the socket holding the tooth in place. An avulsion is usually an emergency that needs immediate attention. This is because an avulsion can cause the periodontal ligaments supporting the tooth to be detached from the tooth roots, making permanent replacement very difficult. A tooth can be restored to its original position if an avulsion is treated within 20 minutes of the injury. Subluxation, on the other hand, occurs if the tooth is not completely dislodged from the socket.
- Crown Fracture
A fracture occurs when the crown of the tooth becomes broken by a strong dental trauma or impact. A fracture is usually not invisible in the first stages, but if left untreated, it can cause periodontal infection, leading to further destruction of the tooth and the surrounding tissues. This calls for immediate dental care and examination in case an athlete experiences any orofacial injury.
- Root fracture
Most of the time, fractures affect only the crown of the tooth. However, a tooth may become fractured from within the roots. If a root fracture is left untreated, the crack/fracture may travel to the outer surface of the tooth. Additionally, it can cause an infection to occur since the crack is so close to the periodontium.
- Intrusion
Dental trauma can cause a tooth to be driven into the jawbone or alveolar. This type of injury is referred to as an intrusion. While intrusions can happen to any athlete, it is usually common among children athletes because their alveolar bone is softer than that of an adult. The alveolar is the bones which hold the teeth in place in the tooth sockets. An intrusion can always lead to other conditions such as destruction of the tooth pulp, shortening or the roots (resorption), and ankylosis (fusion of the root to the jawbone).
Bottom Line
As common as they are, dental sports injuries always require a specialized examination by a dentist or an endodontist so that any additional injuries are detected and treated in time. Endodontists will help save your tooth from further injury and relieve you of the pain so that you can go back to playing sports as usual. Most treatments usually depend on the type of injury. For instance, for a tooth fracture, the dentist can recommend reattaching the broken piece of the tooth through bonding while for dislocation, the dentist can replace the tooth in its socket.
Carrum Downs Dental Clinic has specialists in sports-related dental injuries and sports dentistry and will be at your service whenever you need them.
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