If Your Teeth are Injured While Playing Sports: Visit a Cosmetic Dentist

Forty percent of adult tooth injuries are due to a sports accident and as a cosmetic dentist we can help.  We can restore your damaged tooth using a variety of techniques that can keep your tooth looking natural after an injury. Our focus is first on your oral health and then on making sure that your tooth looks amazing.  Fortunately, we can do both so that no matter how injured your tooth is – you can keep a gorgeous smile. One of the ways that we restore damaged teeth is with a dental crown.  Whether or not you need this really depends on the extent of your injury.  When a tooth is severely cracked, or a large portion has been broken off, a crown is a way to hold the tooth together.  It’s a cap that completely surrounds the tooth and holds it all in place – important for teeth that cannot stay together on their own.  A crown can be made of all-metal, ceramic-on-metal, or all-ceramic so that you can select the material that you want your crown to be made of based on how durable you need it to be and where the crown is located.  If it is on one of your front teeth, an all-ceramic crown will likely be the best option. If your tooth is only mildly damaged while playing sports, a dental veneer may be a better option. This is a thin shell that is placed onto the surface of your tooth. It is created in a dental lab after taking a mold of your mouth so that the size and shape of the veneer blends in with your other natural teeth.  The goal is to create a completely natural looking tooth so that no one knows it was ever injured and as a cosmetic dentist; that is exactly what we will do. Preventing Tooth Injuries You can help to protect your teeth from sports injuries by keeping them healthy in the first place.  Start by eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water.  You should eat green leafy vegetables, yogurt, cheese, nuts, lean protein and crunchy fruits and veggies in order to re-mineralize your teeth and keep them strong.  You can also brush with fluoride toothpaste to keep your teeth strong.  Combine this with brushing and flossing throughout the day and regular teeth cleanings in order to keep your teeth cavity-free.  When your teeth are free from infection, they will be stronger and less likely to become damaged by a flying elbow during a basketball game. We also recommend that you wear a mouth guard while practicing or playing a game. The American Dental Association estimates that 200,000 injuries are prevented every year by college and high school football players wearing a mouth guard.  In sports where this isn’t required, like basketball, tooth injuries are more common.  In fact, according to the University of California 11 percent of their basketball players reported a tooth injury – highlighting how important it is to wear a mouth guard. If your tooth is injured anyway while playing sports, we can help to restore it in our cosmetic dentist office.

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