Written By Dr. Kyle Griffith
I’ve got kids of my own and as a parent you want them to be safe and have a ton of fun. Unfortunately, accidents in sports can happen. Here are the top three ways to protect your child and their wonderful smile:
Have your child wear an athletic mouthguard. This is the most effective way to avoid traumatic injuries to the teeth, jaw bones, and joints. A mouthguard is medium density plastic that is custom formed to your child’s mouth. It acts like a cushion to absorb a blow to the mouth or jaws. Here is the problem: compliance. If given the choice, most kids will not wear a mouthguard. The common complaints from young athletes are: “I can’t breathe well with it in,” “I can’t communicate with my teammates,” and the biggest of all is: “I look funny and the other kids aren’t wearing one.” At 58 Dental, we have a solution for this. We have partnered with UnderArmour for the fabrication of our athletic guards. These athletic guards are custom fitted so your child’s ability to breathe and communicate will actually be enhanced. The brand recognition for UnderArmour with young athletes takes care of the issue of compliance. Your son or daughter will literally be wearing an athletic mouthguard just like the professional athletes they idolize. Brand recognition is a powerful force among adolescents.
Have a Save-A-Tooth Kit available at practice and games. It doesn’t take much impact for a tooth to go flying out of the mouth. This emergency kit is essential for saving a tooth that is knocked out of an athlete’s mouth. The kit comes with a little jar of solution that you place a knocked-out tooth into. The solution is specifically formulated to help keep the living cells on the surface of the root of the tooth alive for long enough to get to a dentist who can attempt to re- implant the tooth. The athletic teams partnered with 58 Dental have been provided with complimentary Save-A-Tooth Kits.
Available at www.saveatooth.com
Have a dentist on-call for your athletic team’s events: With dental trauma, especially knocked- out teeth, time is of the essence. Nothing is better than professional assistance in times of an emergency. Have your athletic department or community sports association reach out to local dentists to find one who is comfortable with and available to treat athletic trauma cases.
If you would like to protect your child with a custom athletic guard that they are sure to wear, contact 58 Dental today. At your child’s next sporting event, you can sit back and enjoy the game with confidence, knowing your child is protected.
