A few years ago, I started thinking carefully about what I could do to improve my smile. I had lived with crooked, yellowed teeth for most of my adult life, and honestly, I just wanted to feel beautiful. I started thinking about working with a cosmetic dentist, and before I knew it, I was in an office getting a complimentary consultation. I learned about a variety of different procedures that could improve my look, and it was really fun. I wanted to create a blog all about making smiles more beautiful, which is why I made this website. Check out this blog for great information about dentistry.
If your child plays contact sports, chances are you're already taking necessary precautions to help protect their teeth. However, you should still plan on bringing your child into the dentist's office for regular examinations and dental x-rays. Your child's interest in sports could put them at a higher risk of some unusual dental problems. Here's what you should watch out for.
Traumatic Injuries
Traumatic injuries happen in contact sports, often to everyone involved, whether parents like it or not. Sadly, even with tooth protection, damage can sometimes happen to the teeth, jaw, and gums. If the injury was severe enough to cause your child pain or to knock a tooth out you'd want to take them to the dentist right away. However, even milder injuries can potentially trigger a condition called tooth resorption for your child.
Tooth Resorption
Tooth resorption is a condition where the natural mechanisms of teeth don't work the way that they should. Chances are you remember when your child started to lose their baby teeth. The reason why fallen-out baby teeth often don't have roots attached is that the body reabsorbs those roots when it's time for the teeth to fall out. This is a natural process that's supposed to happen.
However, when tooth resorption strikes, this same mechanism can backfire and turn on for adult teeth. This essentially creates a cavity inside the tooth that works its way outwards.
If you're wondering what this has to do with sports, then it's more to do with any injuries your child has sustained to their face. The full reason behind why tooth resorption happens isn't fully understood, but it's believed that one of the potential causes is injuries to the tooth. So if your child has taken enough blows to the face, it's possible they could develop this condition.
Detection and Treatment
Part of the reason why it's so important to see your child's dentist and to say yes to x-rays is that it's the only surefire way to detect this problem. Otherwise, a tooth resorption cavity wouldn't be noticeable from the outside until it had eaten its way outward to the enamel shell of the tooth. By this point, the tooth would be a loss and would have to be pulled, as the internal parts would be likely completely gone.
When a tooth resorption case is discovered early on, it can be treated. Drilling down to the affected area and removing the pulp can be utilized to stop tooth resorption in its tracks. In extreme cases, a root canal may be necessary.
Tooth resorption is one good reason why your child should see a family dentistry specialist on a regular basis.
Share4 October 2019
