April is National Facial Protection Month

Sports Safety Tips

April is National Facial Protection Month, a perfect time to promote awareness of how to be safe during sports. According to Medscape, sports-related facial injuries account for eight percent of all facial soft tissue injuries, with between 11 and 40 percent of all sports injuries involving the face – most often due to direct hits with a ball or as a result of player-to-player contact.

It’s important to play it safe during recreational and organized sports in order to prevent painful and serious facial injuries that take all the fun out of the game. Heed these five simple safety tips.

1. Wear a Mouth Guard: Mouth guards are far less expensive than the cost to repair an injury. Your dentist can make you a customized mouth guard that holds your teeth in place and allows for normal breathing and speech.
2. Helmets Help: Helmets absorb the energy of an impact, helping to prevent damage to the head.
3. Wear Protective Eyewear: Eyes are very vulnerable to damage, especially while playing sports.
4. Face Shields are Recommended: Hockey pucks, footballs, baseballs and racquetballs have been known to cause severe facial damage, no matter what age you are.
5. Use Mandatory Protective Gear: Athletes participating in contact sports such as football, hockey and boxing MUST wear mouth guards, as it’s required by law. Most healthcare and dental professionals agree: Mouth guards, which have been proven to significantly decrease the risk of oral injuries, should be mandatory in every youth sport.

Organized sports that have the most oral injuries include:

• Basketball
• Wrestling
• Field hockey
• Ice hockey
• Football
• Soccer
• Lacrosse
• Baseball
• Softball

Many cases of facial trauma are also increasingly seen in unorganized or pickup sports activities.

About 12 million people between the ages of 5 and 22 suffer a sport-related injury every year, leading to 20 million lost days of school and $33 billion in healthcare costs. Many of these injuries could be prevented with protective gear. That’s why athletes should use a properly fitted mouth guard and consider it an essential piece of their protective equipment.

Talk with your dentist about what kinds of activities you enjoy and how you can best protect yourself.

Contact Studio City Dental Center

We would be happy to fit you with a custom mouth guard or provide recommendations on how to protect your teeth from youth and adult sports. To make an appointment, contact us at 818-762-2977 or fill out our convenient online form.