Importance of Facial Protection
April was National Facial Protection Month, but we’re dedicated to it all year! If you have a child that plays sports or you coach a sport, take some time to talk to your kids about protecting themselves against dental and facial injuries.
Experts have offered up these specific tips for children who play sports:
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Always wear a mouth-guard when playing contact sports. They are much less expensive than the cost to repair an injury.
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Helmets are another important piece of safety equipment. They absorb the energy of an impact and help prevent damage to the head.
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Use protective eye-wear. The eyes are very vulnerable to injury when participating in sports.
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A face shield can help prevent damage to the delicate bones around the eyes, nose and jaw. Objects such as hockey pucks, basketballs and racquetballs can cause severe damage to players of any age.
Back in 2012, the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation said that more than 3 million teeth would be knocked out in youth sporting events that year. The NYSS Foundation also stated that any athlete that refuses to wear a mouth-guard are 60 times more likely to suffer from damage to their teeth.
The American Dental Association has teamed up with organizations such as the American Association of Orthodontists and the Academy for Sports Dentistry (among others) to sponsor National Facial Protection Month.
Team sports such as football, baseball, and hockey, as well as recreational sports such as rollerblading and biking offer some of the biggest risks for children and their face.
More than 67 percent of parents in 2009 admitted that their children don’t wear mouth-guards during organized sports.
This needs to change. Most sports don’t require children to wear mouth-guards We request that you ask your child to wear mouth-guards to protect themselves from serious facial and dental injuries. They are inexpensive and are just as important as any other piece of equipment such as helmets and shoulder pads.
For more information on facial protection, visit the American Dental Association’s website.
For more tips on finding the right gear for your child, feel free to contact us at Wagner Oral Surgery on our website or by calling us at (262) 634-4646.
Posted by
richardwagner262
on May 27th, 2013
8:30 am
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Tags: facial trauma, mouthguards, national facial protection month, oral surgery, sports, sports and teeth health, teeth, tooth loss
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