Bikes, football, scooters: mouthguards and dental trauma in children
Warm weather brings back parks, pitches and falls. One child in three injures a tooth before age 12: here's which sports call for a mouthguard, how to choose one and what to do in the first minutes after a knock.
Why May is the month of broken teeth
More hours outdoors, first rides without stabilisers, scooters, end-of-season tournaments: in spring, injuries to front teeth increase. Upper incisors are hit most, especially in children with protruding teeth or who breathe through the mouth.
Most trauma happens in everyday play, not competitive sport: slips in the bathroom, falls from the swing, collisions between siblings. A few precautions really make a difference.
The mouthguard: which sports and how to choose
Recommended for football, basketball, volleyball, hockey, martial arts, rugby, skateboarding and, for the bold, bikes and scooters too. There are three types: stock (cheap but unstable), 'boil and bite' moulded in hot water (a good compromise) and custom-made by the dentist from an impression, the most protective and comfortable, essential for children with braces.
Does a custom mouthguard grow with the child? No: it should be checked every year and remade as teeth change. At the clinic we make them in colours and patterns chosen by the child: if they like it, they wear it.
Helmet yes, but mind the chin
A helmet protects the head, not the teeth: in a forward fall the face hits the ground first. Teach children to fall 'like a ball' protecting the face with their arms, and for scooters choose helmets with chin protection if your child is a beginner.
What to do in the first 30 minutes after a knock
Stay calm and check the mouth with a torch. Chipped tooth: look for the fragment and bring it to the clinic in water or milk, it can often be reattached. Displaced or wobbly tooth: don't touch it, apply ice to the lip and call us. Knocked-out permanent tooth: hold it by the crown, rinse without scrubbing, put it back in the socket if your child cooperates or keep it in milk and come within 30-60 minutes. Baby teeth knocked out by a blow, however, are never put back.
After any trauma, even if everything looks fine, a check-up is needed: damage to the root and the developing permanent tooth only shows on an X-ray. Call us on 051 814000: for trauma we fit you in the same day.
Come and try a custom mouthguard →Questions about your child's teeth?
Call us: the first visit is a game, fear-free and no strings attached.
