5 sports safety tips

5 Sports Safety Tips
By Valley Dental Care | September 1, 2022

Do you love to play sports? Then you need to check out our 5 dental sports safety tips! We wrote this list to help our patients stay in the game. Don’t get sidelined by a dental injury that’s preventable!

1. Know the Risks of Your Sport

First things first, learn about the risks of any sport before you play! Is there a risk of falling? Being hit by a ball, puck, or racket? Getting tackled or checked by other players? Knowing the risks is important so that you know which sports safety tips to put into practice when you play!

2. Get Protective Gear

Once you know the risks of a sport, it’s important to research the type of protective gear that is advised. Look for recommendations from sports safety experts, talk with your doctor, and ask your dentist. Often, helmets are required, but not faceguards or mouthguards, despite research showing how effective and important additional protective gear can be.

3. Wear Your Protective Gear

If protective gear has been recommended, make sure to wear it every time you play or practice! Following sports safety tips from your dentist or doctor can help to prevent chipped, broken, or knocked out teeth, jaw injuries, and even brain injuries. You never know when an injury is going to occur and it’s always better to be safe and protect your beautiful smile!

4. If in Doubt, Get Checked Out!

If a trauma does occur, even if you don’t see obvious signs of injury, it’s always a good idea to get checked out by your dentist or doctor right away to help prevent complications from developing. Sometimes dental injuries happen beneath the surface, so you might need an x-ray to check if a tooth has been damaged.

5. Keep Your Dentist’s Number Handy!

Last but not least, one of our top sports safety tips is simply to keep your dentist’s phone number handy at all times, along with any other emergency contact numbers. Add it to your phone contacts, share it with your coach or team doctor, or anyone else who might need to call on your behalf in case of an emergency. Preparing for an emergency ahead of time can go a long way toward ensuring that you get the help and relief you need as soon as possible!

Call our to make an appointment with a dentist who may be able to help you find out more about this topic, and improve your oral health.