As Team Dentist for Florida Atlantic University Athletics and the US Olympic team, I do all I can to stay up to date on the latest technology and procedures. This year, I attended the Academy for Sports Dentistry Convention in New Orleans.
Team Dentists from around the country met to discuss how the dentist plays a role in the athlete’s health and concussion prevention.
The Academy for Sports Dentistry is working alongside of the National Athletic Trainers Association to best serve the student athletes. Some of the courses were “Team Dentists Bring More to the Sports Medicine than a Mouthguard” by Jason Drury, MEd, LAT, ATC; “Team Dentist: Drugs and Athletes” by Leslie Rye, DDS, FASD, FAGD, FICD and “Immediate Recognition and Treatment of Dental Trauma” by Steve Mills, DDS, FASD.
Sports play a large role in our community and culture as a whole. Whether it be talk of concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) or injuries in pee wee football or little league, the importance of prevention of injuries is very important.
In preparation for the fall season, my team at Advanced Dentistry South Florida is in high gear to fabricate custom fit mouthguards for the student athletes.
With various types of mouthguards, the custom guards allow for the athlete to breathe better while wearing a mouthguard that will not just fall out when the mouth is opened. Regardless of age, anyone who is playing a sport should be wearing a mouthguard.
I
t’s always heartbreaking to see a young person come into my office with a dental injury that was completely preventable if just a mouthguard would have been worn.
The average cost to replace a tooth that has been knocked out over a lifetime is over $10,000. When looking at the cost of a mouthguard as to the cost to replace a tooth, it is truly a no brainer! Just the cost savings alone is enough reason to wear one, but if that’s not enough reason, think of the time you could go with no front tooth. Some people may look at is as a battle scar, most people would rather not have to think about missing a front tooth.
For more information about the Academy for Sports Dentistry or Sports Dentistry, visit https://ad-sf.com/sports-dentistry/.
FAU Team Dentist 