Dental trauma can result from mishaps, sports injuries, or even everyday activities if precautions are not taken. In addition to causing pain and suffering, dental injuries to the teeth and gums can result in long-term dental issues if improperly treated. Fortunately, by taking the appropriate precautions, many cases of oral trauma can be avoided. We’ll look at ways to shield your teeth and prevent dental injuries in this article.
- Wear a Mouthguard During Sports Activities
Participating in sports, especially contact sports like hockey, basketball, and football, is one of the main causes of oral damage. One of the easiest and best methods to keep your teeth safe during these activities is to wear a mouthguard.
- Types of mouthguards:
- Stock mouthguards: These are ready-made and have a less customized fit, therefore they provide less protection.
- Boil-and-bite mouthguards: The thermoplastic substance used to make these softens when boiling, enabling you to shape them to resemble your teeth.
- Custom-fitted mouthguards: Since they are made especially for your teeth and mouth by a dentist, they offer the best protection.
The best protection is provided by a custom-fitted mouthguard, which is more costly but protects teeth from collisions and lowers the chance of fractures, dislocations, and other injuries.
- Avoid Using Your Teeth as Tools
Although it may seem like a handy shortcut to use your teeth to split nuts, open bottles, or tear apart packaging, doing so significantly raises the risk of tooth injuries.
- Potential damage: Chips, cracks, and even fractures can occur from using your teeth in ways that they weren’t intended to. Teeth are resilient but not unbreakable, and overuse gradually erodes them.
- Alternatives: Instead of using your teeth for performing tasks, always use the appropriate tools, such as bottle openers or scissors
By using your teeth with awareness, you can lessen the chance of unintentional harm and prevent needless dental trauma.
- Maintain Good Dental Hygiene
Compared to teeth that are weaker or decaying, strong, healthy teeth are more resilient to unintentional harm. Keeping your teeth free from decay and other conditions that increase their vulnerability to damage is made possible by practicing good oral hygiene.
- Brush and floss regularly: To get rid of plaque and stop cavities, brush your teeth twice a day using fluoride toothpaste and floss once a day.
- Visit the dentist: Your dentist can identify and treat any early indications of decay, fractures, or other deficiencies during routine dental checkups, preventing more serious issues down the road.
- Strengthen with fluoride: Your tooth enamel can be strengthened with fluoride treatments, increasing its resistance to damage and decay.
A significant protection against dental trauma is a solid foundation of oral health.
- Protect Your Teeth from Grinding (Bruxism)
Teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, can wear down and weaken your teeth, increasing the risk of dental trauma from everyday activities. It might be challenging to stop teeth grinding without the right protection because many individuals do it unintentionally, especially when they’re sleeping.
- Mouthguards for grinding: Wearing a sleep guard might help prevent damage to your teeth by cushioning them from grinding at night.
- Stress management: Reducing teeth grinding may be possible by using relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation, as stress can be a cause of bruxism.
You can avoid tooth deterioration and lower your chance of fractures or other damage by taking measures to prevent or lessen the consequences of bruxism.
- Be Cautious with Hard Foods
Hard foods that can seriously harm your teeth include popcorn kernels, ice, and hard candies. Teeth chips, cracks, and even breakage can result from biting down on hard things.
- Avoid chewing on ice: Although it can appear harmless, ice is a leading cause of tooth cracks.
- Limit hard candy: Try to melt the hard candy in your mouth rather than biting into it if you like that kind of treat.
- Cut food into smaller pieces: To lessen the strain on your teeth when eating hard foods like apples or carrots, chop them into smaller, more manageable pieces.
You can lower your risk of dental trauma and avoid unintentional tooth fractures by being aware of the foods you eat and how you eat them.
- Be Mindful of Slips and Falls
One of the main causes of oral damage, especially in youngsters and older adults, is accidental falls. There are strategies to reduce the likelihood of a dental injury from a fall, even if it is hard to completely prevent all falling risks.
- Wear protective gear: Wearing helmets and protective gear when bicycling, skating, or skiing can lower your chance of facial and dental injuries.
- Secure slippery areas: Ensure that there are no trip hazards in your house, such as loose rugs, and that moist spaces, like bathrooms, have non-slip mats installed.
- Supervise children: Since children are more likely to fall when playing, it can be helpful to watch them closely and make sure their play areas are safe.
You can lessen the chance of dental harm from unintentional falls by making your surroundings safe and wearing protective gear.
- Be Cautious with Dental Jewelry and Oral Piercings
Dental trauma is a risk factor associated with oral piercings, especially tongue and lip piercings. Particularly when eating or conversing, the continuous contact between the metal jewelry and your teeth might result in chipped or fractured teeth.
- Consider alternatives: If you’re thinking about getting an oral piercing, consult your dentist about the possible hazards and look into other options to lessen the chance of tooth harm.
- Remove jewelry during physical activity: In order to avoid inadvertent harm, it’s a good idea to take off any jewelry that may be pierced from your mouth when participating in sports or other activities.
Understanding the dangers of oral piercings might help you avoid harming your teeth and gums.
- Take Care When Eating Sticky or Chewy Foods
Dental restorations including crowns, fillings, and braces are susceptible to tearing when chewed or sticky foods like caramel, taffy, or chewing gum are consumed. This increases the possibility of these dental appliances coming loose or falling out and harming the neighboring teeth.
- Limit sticky snacks: By consuming less chewy or sticky foods, you can lessen the unneeded strain on your teeth and dental work.
- Be mindful of dental appliances: Follow your dentist’s advice regarding foods to avoid if you have braces or other dental procedures to prevent damage.
You can avoid tooth stress and preserve your dental appliances by choosing your food wisely.
Conclusion
The key to preventing dental trauma is to be cautious and aware of the potential hazards to your teeth. Simple behavioral adjustments, such as putting on a mouthguard when playing sports or resisting the urge to use your teeth as tools, can greatly lower the risk of dental injury. Furthermore, you may keep your teeth strong and less likely to break by practicing good oral hygiene, avoiding grinding, and using caution when eating hard or sticky foods.
Even though accidents sometimes happen, by following these precautions, you can significantly lower your chance of suffering dental trauma and preserve your smile for many years to come. It’s important to seek emergency dental care if you suffer a dental injury in order to minimize complications and guarantee the best possible result.
If you have any further questions or would like to schedule a teeth whitening consultation, please don’t hesitate to contact us at St James Dental Group at 323-771-7254. Our team of skilled dental professionals is always here to provide you with the highest quality care and help you achieve the smile of your dreams.
By: Ladan Zinati