Sports Dentistry Facts

Facts from the National Youth Sports Foundation for Safety

Dental injuries are the most common type of orofacial injury sustained during participation in sports; the majority of these dental injuries are preventable.
An athlete is 60 times more likely to sustain damage to the teeth when not wearing a protective mouthguard.
The cost of a fractured tooth is many times greater than the cost of a dentist diagnosed and designed professionally made mouthguard.
Every athlete involved in contact sport has about a 10% chance per season of an orofacial injury, or a 33-56% chance during an athletic career.
The cost of a dental implant replacing a front tooth and the follow-up dental treatment is upwards of $5000.
Victims of knocked out teeth who do not have a tooth properly preserved or replanted in a timely manner may face lifetime dental costs of $15,000-$20,000/tooth, hours in the dental chair, and the possible development of other dental problems such as periodontal disease.
It is estimated that faceguards and mouthguards prevent approximately 200,000 injuries each year in high school and college football.
The stock mouthguard which is bought at sports stores without any individual fitting, provide only a low level of protection if any. If the wearer is rendered unconscious, there is a risk the mouthguard may lodge in the throat potentially causing an airway obstruction.

There is no peer-reviewed independent medical evidence that athletic mouthguards prevent or lessen the degree of cerebral concussion.
Mouthguards should be worn at all times during competition; in practice as well as in games.
Contact your local dental society and association for information on dentists and mouthguard programs in your area.
The American Dental Association recommends wearing custom mouthguards for the following sports: acrobats, basketball, boxing, field Hockey, football, gymnastics, handball, ice hockey, lacrosse, martial arts, racquetball, roller hockey, rugby, shot putting, skateboarding, skiing, skydiving, soccer, squash, surfing, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, wrestling.