Fake Teeth for Athletes

Ever catch a glimpse of hockey great Mark Messier’s grin? You should take a look. Those perfectly aligned gleaming white teeth are actually FAKES.  Matter of fact, many professional AND high school athletes have several fake teeth scattered throughout their mouths. In any sport, there’s always the potential for tooth injury, so it’s no surprise that 5 million teeth are accidentally knocked out in the U.S. each year. And it’s ALSO no surprise that most people don’t know what to do about it in an emergency. If a permanent tooth has been knocked out or is broken, the MOST IMPORTANT thing to do is to FIND the tooth. If it’s intact, clean it off thoroughly and put it back into its space. If this is NOT possible, place the tooth UNDER the tongue in saliva. In either case, it is URGENT that you get to a dentist as SOON as possible – ideally, within the first 15-30 minutes.  If the injured person happens to be hysterical, unconscious or is a child, simply place the tooth in iced MILK until a dentist can reposition it. Milk contains proteins that keep a constant acid to alkaline ratio, in addition to anti-bacterial substances – so it’s a better preservative for a living tooth. Well sometimes a tooth CAN be put back into place permanently, your dentist may need to replace the lost tooth with EITHER a fixed bridge or an implant. Today, we normally use IMPLANTS rather than fixed bridges, so we can AVOID drilling down healthy teeth for bridge supports.  Depending on their condition, there are several options to correct teeth that have been INJURED but NOT knocked out -- such as those pushed out of position, fractured, or chipped.  From simple bonding and porcelain veneers to possible root canal treatments with crowns or even SPLINTING teeth together for support while they heal. YOUNG athletes are advised to wait until their playing days are over before getting PERMANENT restorations to minimize damage to new dental work.  In these cases, removable teeth provide a temporary fix.  Often, the end effects of an injury aren’t evident for years to come.  Trauma to a tooth may lead to disintegration of the root or nerve death, causing pain and darkening of the tooth. These cases often require a root canal treatment or EVEN extraction. To prevent tooth loss while participating in sports, most athletes use MOUTHGUARDS to protect their teeth while playing.  According to the American Dental Association, an athlete is 60 TIMES more likely to suffer tooth damage when NOT using a mouth guard. For more information on cosmetic dentistry procedures, check out more videos in this series.