When most people think of summer in Michigan they picture sunny days spent at the lake, outdoor concerts and the smell of recently cut grass. Michigan summers are the reward for the punishment that is Michigan winter.
When I think of Michigan summers I think of getting hit in the face with a softball. Or maybe getting an elbow in the incisor while playing basketball. And summer always leads to fall football season, which sometimes leads to broken teeth. I know, I’m kind of weird. But summer is definitely the season of dental sports trauma.
Sports trauma is one of those things that athletes don’t want to think about. I routinely talk to high school aged kids that play sports and almost none of them use a protective mouth guard unless they are required. Most athletes will never experience an “orofacial injury” while playing sports. The problem is that if it happens, it’s really bad news. According to the National Youth Sports Foundation for the Prevention of Athletic Injuries:
Tooth and other dental injuries are the most common type of head and neck injury sustained during participation in sports.
A tooth knocked out (complete avulsion) while playing sports is likely to cost $20,000 or more to replace over a lifetime
Fixing a tooth or teeth that are broken but not lost during sports will likely create expensive problems that will need to be dealt with over the athlete’s life.
Am I using scare tactics? You betcha! I have treated patients who have needed extensive dental work to fix problems that could have been prevented. They all wish that they had been wearing a mouth guard when they got nailed with that baseball!
I know what you’re thinking. Wearing a mouth guard sucks. They’re bulky and annoying. They make you drool. They look silly. I would agree with you if you’re talking about the store bought “boil and bite” mouth guards. They’re awful. A custom made, lab fabricated dental mouth guard that is appropriately trimmed and adjusted is a whole different story.
"I've got one for every outfit!"
We have mouth guards made in a lab. We use a super accurate impression material to make a model of your teeth and then have a lab fabricate a mouthguard of ideal thickness. A thicker mouth guard offers more protection, but that needs to be weighed against comfort. If it’s not comfortable, you won’t wear it. Since different sports require different levels of protection, we can make a mouth guard in varying thicknesses depending on whether you’re boxing or playing tennis. Whatever sport you play, we’ve got you covered. More importantly, we can get all different colors and styles, add straps for football and even fit patients in braces!
The bottom line is that you should be wearing a mouth guard if you’re playing sports. Most athletes are pretty sure it couldn’t happen to them. I know a few that used to think that. They wear mouth guards now!
Did you like this post? Would you like to share it with friends? You can click on the heart shaped icon next to the title of this post and automatically share it on Facebook, Twitter or Google+! Or you can leave a comment by clicking the “ballon” shaped button next to the title. Or send me an email at alan@meadfamilydental.com. I’m happy to answer any questions and appreciate your input! If you are looking for a mouth guard (or even a new dentist!) in Saginaw, MI I’d like to help!
*If you already did, and something broke…we can help. We see most emergencies immediately. Call us at (989) 799-9133 or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.
I hear this line at least once a week. Really. ”No offense, but I hate dentists.” How could I take offense at that?
My usual reply: “Perfect! I hate patients, too. Open wide.”
I know, I’m making light of the way a lot of people feel about the dentist office. Perhaps I shouldn’t, but I’ve found that approaching patients with a sense of humor is usually helpful.
So why would a patient “hate the dentist?” Some associate the dentist with pain. If you’ve ever had an abscessed tooth, who could blame you? Others may have had a bad experience in the dental office that has been hard to forget. Some people really don’t like the way that anesthetic makes them feel.
Finally, dental care is expensive. Anything that costs money that you would rather spend in some other way is expensive. Have you ever had someone trying to sell you a new roof or a dry basement try to explain to you how inexpensive their product is? Dentistry is kind of the same way. If you came into my office and said, “doc, I’ve got a bunch of money in my pocket that I don’t know what to do with so I thought I’d have a root canal” you’d be the first patient that ever said that to me.
Any of these concerns is 100% legitimate. So my job is to try to make you hate us less. I have a few suggestions that might make coming to the dentist a little easier:
Don’t wait until something is broken or something hurts. By the time it breaks or hurts it’s going to cost more to fix (if it can be fixed) and has more potential to hurt. Regular visits for checkups when you’re not having troubles make it a lot easier to catch small problems before they become big problems.
Dentistry has come a long way! The way it used to be and the way it is now is a LOT different. The needles are smaller, our numbing agents are better and our understanding of pain control is much improved! If you haven’t had work done for awhile I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I can’t guarantee that there will be absolutely no discomfort but we’re able to keep pain down to an absolute minimum.
Tell us! If you had a previous bad dental experience that information is really important. If you tell us what happened to you before, we’ll make sure we don’t do it again. For instance, I’ve had a patient tell me that her biggest problem with dentistry in the past was a feeling of claustrophobia because she was leaned back too far. This is an easy problem to fix but we don’t know if you don’t tell us!
Mead’s rule. There is never a time when we’re working on you that we can’t stop. In my office, the patient is in charge. If you need me to stop, for any reason, I will. Just raise your hand or let me know in some way. Even if it’s just to rest your jaw or take a deep breath. There’s nothing so important during dental work that we can’t give you a break. Even if you aren’t in control of anything else in your life…you’re in control when you’re here!
The goal of this Saginaw dentist is to turn “haters” into “regulars.” We do it by treating you like we’d want to be treated. We’ll greet you with a smile. You can pick whatever TV channel you might want to watch. Maybe you’d prefer to surf on your laptop or iPad. We’ll explain what we’re going to do before we do it and we’ll tell you how much it’s going to cost before we start anything. You’re in charge and what you say goes. I don’t know if we can change “I hate dentists” into “I love visiting my dentist” but we’re going to try!
Questions or comments about this blog? Would you like to make an appointment? Call the office at (989) 799-9133 or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com. I always answer my own email!
Murphy’s Law states that “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” The dental corollary of Murphy’s Law (a.k.a. Murphy’s Law of Toothaches) is “if you’re going to have a dental emergency it will happen on the weekend or when you’re out of town or both.”
Last Friday I was working at the Midland office and had the opportunity to treat a patient with a toothache. Toothaches are incredibly common and the aforementioned Murphy’s Law of Toothaches was in full swing. The patient was visiting the area from Georgia* to participate in a yearly local hot air balloon event in Midland. He was the “crew captain” and was in charge of setting the balloon up and tracking it from the ground. And, as Murphy would have it, he had a terrible toothache. Tyler* told me that he knew he had tooth troubles and had plans to get some work done in the upcoming year.
But then he took a trip to Michigan…and he didn’t realize Murphy had decided to come along for the ride.
Now I ask you…if you were a hot air balloon pilot would you want your crew chief distracted by a bad toothache? I know I wouldn’t.
The story actually had a great ending. We were able to diagnose and treat the offending tooth and Tyler was soon feeling 100% again. In fact, he was feeling so good that he invited his dentist to go for a balloon ride later that weekend. And I did.
What’s the moral of this story?
First, remember Murphy’s Law of Toothaches. If you’ve got teeth that you know you need some work…just do it!
Second, if you do get in trouble on the road you can check out our Dental Referral Network to see if there are any recommended dentists close to where you’re travelling. Otherwise call our emergency line at (989) 488-7665 and I’ll do my best to help you find help.
Finally, I’m happy to treat dental emergencies and I’ll never say “I told you so.”
Just remember when you’re planning your next trip or vacation to make sure you don’t accidentally invite Murphy along for the ride!
*names and places have been changed to protect the “toothachey.”
‘Twas the week before Christmas with plans winding down.
