If your child plays contact sports, you may have dealt with a few injuries in your time. Bumps, bruises, or even broken bones are sometimes a childhood rite of passage. But while bruises will fade and broken bones heal, a knocked-out tooth from a child’s mouth won’t necessarily grow back — and the dental bill can cost almost as much as the sports membership.

In this blog, we’ll examine the relationship between dental injury and sport. We’ll also discuss how to prevent dental injuries in sports — and when to call a kids’ dentist.

Kids’ Teeth: Fair Game in Contact Sports

Some sports pose a greater risk of dental injury than others. If your child plays AFL, soccer, basketball, or hockey, they may be more vulnerable to dental trauma — think jaw fractures or chipped or knocked-out teeth. Sometimes, all it takes is a ball to the face, a fall to the ground, or a collision with another player. You can be in the wrong place at the wrong time — or fighting for the ball a little too hard.

Make Kids’ Sports Safer with a Mouthguard

If your kids play sports, a mouthguard can bring peace of mind. Choose from three different types of mouthguards:

Stock Mouthguards

Stock mouthguards are those classic over-the-counter, one-size-fits-all solutions that provide baseline protection. They’re easy to find and easy on the wallet — but you get what you pay for. Their generic design means they won’t fit well, and your child will have to reposition them often.

Boil-&-Bite Mouthguards

Boil-and-bite mouthguards are one step up from stock mouthguards, allowing for minimal customisation. Submerge the boil-and-bite mouthguard in boiling water until soft (for about 15 seconds), allow it to cool, and get your child to bite down on it for a customised fit. They can further manipulate its shape using their tongue, fingers, and lips.

Custom-Fitted Mouthguards

The best kids’ sports mouthguard on the market is a custom one, fitted in a dentist’s office. A dental professional will take an impression of your child’s dentition and send it to the laboratory, where a technician will craft the final product. Custom mouthguards fit teeth like a glove and are the best defence against sports hazards.

Want to hear the Australian Dental Association’s (ADA) take on this? Visit the ADA Mouthguards page for more information.

Keeping Kids Safe on the Field

Want some tips on how to prevent dental injuries in sports? Here are a few for free:

Make Sure They’re Wearing a Mouthguard

Shielding the teeth — especially with a customised appliance — is a great way to prevent dental injuries in sports, including the worst-case scenario of a knocked-out tooth from your child’s sports program.

Get Them Warmed Up

Warming up is standard practice before playing sports. It prepares the body for intense movement and improves coordination and response time. The knock-on effect of having sharpened reflexes is that your child will be less prone to collisions or falling — ergo, less prone to dental trauma.

Encourage Them to Report Dental Pain

Tell your child to let you — or whoever’s running the sports program — know about any dental discomfort or pain. The sooner you know of a potential sports injury, the sooner you can seek dental treatment, nipping the issue in the bud before it progresses to something more serious.

Organise a Pre-Season Dental Check

A pre-season dental check is a smart step in your child’s sports prep. It ensures their teeth, gums, and jaw are healthy, confirms their mouthguard still fits, and addresses any issues before games begin — helping prevent dental injuries all season long.

Schedule Regular Check-Ups for Mouthguard Fit

Regular dental check-ups help ensure your child’s mouthguard fits correctly as their teeth and jaw develop. A correctly fitted mouthguard provides maximum protection during sport, reducing the risk of dental injuries and giving parents peace of mind throughout the season.

Tips for Fussy Kids

Involve them in the purchasing process by letting them choose a colour or design they like.
Encourage them to wear their mouthguard at home for short periods.
Make sure you acknowledge and congratulate their effort when they wear it properly.
Keep up the regular dental check-ups to ensure the mouthguard is fitting correctly. A comfortable guard is much easier for a kid to tolerate.

When a Sports Dental Injury Occurs

Sometimes, accidents happen — no matter how hard you try to prevent them. When a sports injury occurs, it’s essential to arrange dental treatment sooner rather than later. Sometimes, cosmetic dental services can help restore the smile. Other times, tooth extractions may be necessary.

While your child may not be able to see an emergency dentist straight away, there are some precautions you can take in the meantime:

Collect Teeth or Shards

If there are knocked-out teeth or dental chips, pick up whatever you can find. If you’re dealing with baby teeth, the dentist almost certainly will not reimplant them, but having the teeth or chips handy can still help the dentist decide on the best course of treatment.

If you’re dealing with damaged permanent/adult teeth, collect any shards you can — or, if the tooth is still in one piece, have your child place it back into the socket. Alternatively, if you have a container handy, store the tooth in there, ideally in saline (from a first-aid kit) or a pool of your child’s saliva.

Apply Cold Pressure

If there’s a first-aid kit handy, grab an instant ice pack and hold it to the site of the pain. This can ease the pain and prevent swelling from occurring.

Patch It Up with Gum

If your child has dislodged a filling, their cavity will be exposed. If you have sugar-free gum handy, they can use it to cover the cavity until the dentist gets them a new filling.

Use Pain Relief Medication

If your child is complaining of pain, over-the-counter pain relievers like paracetamol or ibuprofen can take the edge off. Remember that children need only small amounts of this stuff — always read the label to ensure you’re giving your child a safe dosage.

Sports Injury Dental Treatment — Available When You Need It

Contact sports are a great childhood pastime, but they come with risks. That’s why preventing dental injuries in sports is important, often by using a kids’ sports mouthguard. However, sometimes accidents happen — when a sports injury strikes, you need urgent dental treatment.

If you’re currently navigating child dental trauma on the sporting field, don’t wait. Call (03) 9111 7052 or book an emergency appointment via our online portal.