Competing as a professional athlete can be a very rewarding and fun experience but can also be bad for a person's health in a few different ways. For example, broken teeth are a common oral health issue in many types of sports. And this problem can be a challenging one to overcome, but, thankfully, oral surgeons can help to protect an athlete's dental health in many unique ways.
Broken Teeth Can Be an Issue
Dental health is often a major issue for athletes not because they don't take care of their teeth but because of the nature of their competition. For example, hockey is well known for the impact it has on a player's teeth, particularly in how it breaks them. Even if a player doesn't get hit in the mouth with a puck, they may get in fights or get hit heavily and experience broken teeth in many situations.
And while many athletes may take broken teeth as just a part of their job, this type of cavalier attitude is not wise. That's because these cracks and breaks can result in a myriad of problems, such as extra decay on other teeth, heavier plaque spread, and even problems with gum health. As a result, it may be important for these individuals to have an oral surgeon on call at all times. Doing so can prevent a lot of issues.
Ways Oral Surgeons Can Help
Oral surgeons are dental professionals who fully understand the various techniques needed to manage a myriad of broken teeth problems. For example, they can check an athlete's teeth and see whether the cracks can be repaired. Often, fillings and enamel crowns may help to protect the tooth and stop it from breaking even further. Oral surgeons can easily add these items to a person's mouth.
And if a tooth cannot be saved by these more moderate interventions, these experts can remove the tooth and replace it with dentures, bridges, or an implant. In this way, an athlete can keep their mouth strong and their smile presentable for years to come after they initially break their teeth.
These experts can also provide other types of surgeries that may help to manage broken teeth problems. For example, they can remove bits of tooth that may have stuck into the gum and which may cause bleeding, infections, and other concerns. And they can also replace any of their repairs, such as fillings, that may get damaged during a rough competition or event.
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