What Should an Athlete do during a Dental Emergency?
Introduction:
According to published reports, the majority of mouth injuries occur in popular youth sports such as baseball, basketball, soccer, field hockey, softball, and gymnastics, with one study finding that the basketball court has roughly three times as many mouth injuries as the football field. According to recent studies, female athletes sustain more oral and facial injuries than male athletes.The majority of these injuries could have been avoided by simply wearing a mouthguard.
Mouth and jaw injuries, such as broken, cracked, or lost teeth, as well as jaw and joint fractures, are painful and difficult to treat. Jaw and joint injuries frequently necessitate surgery and general anaesthesia, as well as hospitalization and wiring the jaw shut for 30 days to allow the injury to heal. A missing tooth must be reimplanted, or false teeth must be created and fitted.Lost teeth are just as painful as broken or fractured jaws, despite being easier to treat.
Treatment is determined by the type of injury
If your child sustains a dental injury while participating in sports, the Academy for Sports Dentistry recommends the following actions:
A tooth that has been knocked out
While handling, avoid causing additional trauma to the tooth.
Brush, scrub, or sterilize the tooth without touching the root.
If there is debris on your tooth, gently rinse it with water.
If possible, reimplant the tooth and stabilize it by gently biting down on a towel or handkerchief. Only do this if the athlete is alert and conscious.
If you are unable to reimplant, place the tooth in Hank’s Balanced Saline Solution, also known as “Save-a-tooth.”
2nd best: Soak a tooth in milk.
3rd best: Wrap a saline-soaked gauze around the tooth.
4th best: Insert a tooth under the athlete’s tongue. Only do this if the athlete is conscious and alert.
5th best: Soak your tooth in a cup of water.
Make an appointment with the dentist as soon as possible. Time is of the essence. A tooth that is reimplanted within 30 minutes has the highest success rate. As a result, prompt transportation to a dentist is critical.
Luxation (Tooth in socket, but wrong position) and Extruded tooth (Upper tooth hangs down and/or lower tooth rises)
Firm finger pressure is used to reposition the tooth in the socket.
Bite gently on a towel or handkerchief to stabilize the tooth.
Transport to the dentist as soon as possible
Displacement to the side (Tooth pushed back or pulled forward)
Using finger pressure, try to reposition the tooth.
If a local anesthetic is required to reposition a tooth, the athlete should stabilize the tooth by gently biting on a towel or handkerchief.
Transport to the dentist as soon as possible
Teeth that have gotten in the way (Tooth pushed into gum – looks short)
Do nothing and avoid any tooth repositioning.
Transport to the dentist as soon as possible
Fracture or broken tooth:
If a tooth is completely broken in half, save the broken portion and bring it to the dentist as described in Avulsion, Item 4.
To control bleeding, gently bite on a towel or handkerchief to stabilize the portion of the tooth left in the mouth.
If severe pain occurs, avoid contact with other teeth, air, or the tongue. Athletes may experience excruciating pain if their femoral nerve is exposed.
Transport patient to the hospital as soon as possible.
FINAL NOTE:
While contact sports are associated with a higher risk of dental and orofacial trauma, proper treatment can improve outcomes. The importance of prompt referral for complicated crown fractures and temporomandibular joint dislocations cannot be overstated. On the side-lines, a tooth-saving kit is useful. Avulsed teeth can be transported in milk or saliva if they are not available. Mouthguards can help to reduce or eliminate dental injury in children.
