Advice for Avoiding and Treating Kid’s Mouth Injuries
Imagine coming to pick up your child from sports practice only to see them sitting on the sidelines with a towel covered in blood and a bag of ice to their mouth. More and more kids are losing teeth or experiencing trauma to the mouth or face while playing sports. Improved sticks, bats, balls, shoes and the ever increasing size and speed of young children make for better athletes but they also lead to more dental injuries.
Mouth injuries are the most common type of injury sustained during participation in sports. Most parents think that injuries occur in hockey or football when actually there is more danger in sports such as baseball, basketball and soccer. Approximately 30 percent of children have experienced dental injuries including teeth that are knocked out or forced out of position, root fracture and dental bone fractures. The U.S. Center for Disease Control estimates that each year there are more than 600,000 emergency room visits for mouth injuries and more than 2-million teeth that are knocked out from sports-related injuries.
Prevention
Athletic mouth guards or protectors are the best protection against injuries. Studies show 200,000 injuries a year are prevented by mouth guards. They not only help prevent injury to the lips, cheeks and tongue, it is also believed they help protect children from head and neck injuries such as concussions and jaw fractures. Increasingly, organized sports are requiring mouth guards to prevent injuries to athletes.
Mouth protectors are made of soft plastic and should be adapted to fit comfortably to the shape of the upper teeth. There are three types to choose from:
• The STOCK mouth guard is the least expensive and is ready made. It requires the user simply to put it in the mouth and close the jaw to hold it in place. This offers up very little protection since it has a lot of “play” or movement in it.
• The MOUTH-FORMED mouth guard is made through a boil and bite process. They are a step above stock mouth guards but can be cumbersome, malformed and become less protective.
• The CUSTOM-FITTED mouth guard is the most expensive but offers up the best protection.
Choose a mouth guard that your child can wear comfortably. If a mouth guard feels bulky or interferes with speech, it will be left in the locker room.
First Aid
Despite our best efforts, mouth injuries will occur. First Aid is the first line of defense. Immediately after being hit in the mouth, have the child sit with his/her head tilted forward so the blood does not drain down the throat. Controlling the bleeding depends on the part that is injured:
Lip: Place a rolled dressing between the lip and the gum. Hold a second dressing against the outside lip.
Tongue: Press both sides of tongue with gauze or clean cloth without obstructing the child’s breathing.
Gums and roof of mouth: Use direct pressure with gauze or clean cloth.
Tooth: Place direct pressure on tooth or socket with gauze or clean cloth, or have victim bite down on gauze or cloth placed on tooth or socket.
Do not repeatedly rinse the mouth as this may prevent clotting. If the tooth has been broken or knocked out, remove the knocked-out tooth or fragments and submerge them in milk, water or in a “Save a Tooth” solution. If the child is old enough, the tooth can remain in the mouth. Most importantly, get the tooth and child to a dentist as quickly as possible.
Immediate Treatment
Immediate assessment and treatment by a dentist is essential. A few years ago, during soccer practice, a local 12-year old girl fell into the netting of the goal, yanking the two front teeth out of her mouth. Both the girl and her teeth were rushed to the dentist who was able to permanently re-implant them in her mouth. After that initial treatment, there were no additional complications or expense.
Waiting just a few hours or until the next day puts your child in danger of facing long term and expensive dental procedures. If not treated quickly, the cost over a life time of a disfigured smile because of a lost or broken tooth can range from $10,000 to $20,000. That doesn’t take into account the embarrassment of the misshaped or broken front filling.
Even if there is no visible injury to the mouth, have it checked out because some damage or changes may not occur until years later. A child’s smile is one of their most important assets and with proper care it should last a lifetime.
