Sports are a great activity that teaches children about physical fitness, teamwork, sportsmanship, and more. However, they come with an added degree of risk. Obviously, playing a sport increases the likelihood of breaking a bone, but it also increases the risk of losing or breaking a tooth. While broken teeth can be fixed, it is an expensive procedure, and the last thing that children’s sports need to be is more expensive.
As such, it is better to take preventative measures so that your child’s teeth are safe and protected during sports and other physical activities. Here are some examples of steps that you can take…
Insist on a Mouthguard
A mouthguard, also known as a sports guard, is a critical piece of equipment that should always be worn when playing sports (especially contact sports). The problem is that your child is almost assuredly not going to want to wear one. Even though they have gotten more comfortable over the years, it’s definitely a lot more comfortable not to wear one. Due to this fact, over ⅔ of parents say that their child doesn’t wear a mouthguard when they play sports. Don’t be a member of that majority. Always insist that your child wears a mouthguard. It’s going to save you a lot of money and headaches in the long-run.
Helmet-Sports Means Helmets Are Required
Many, many sports require helmets, such as football, baseball, hockey, lacrosse, softball, and a lot more. During a game, the coaches and officials will make your child wear a helmet for their safety. However, when playing on their own or potentially in practice, your child may try avoiding to wear their helmet. Not only is this incredibly dangerous because of the possibility of a head injury, but it also increases the risk that a tooth is broken. As such, always insist that they wear their helmet if they want to keep playing that sport.
Avoid Contact Sports
In general, the risk of a broken tooth is a lot higher for children who play contact sports. So it follows that one of the things that you can do is avoid and discourage those specific sports. There are plenty of competitive sports that are non-contact, such as track, swimming, crew, tennis, and a lot more. Of course, this doesn’t mean that your child shouldn’t play contact sports, especially if they have a passion for it, but you, as the parent, should be aware of the added risks.
