Tooronga Family Dentistry in Glen Iris

Dental Sporting Injuries: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment in Glen Iris

Dental sporting injuries are among the most complex and distressing dental emergencies faced by both patients and clinicians. These injuries, often affecting the upper front teeth, require a careful and timely approach to ensure the best long-term outcome. Rehabilitation depends on understanding which tissues are damaged and applying the right treatment, including repositioning, splinting, and appropriate use of antibiotics.

Wearing a mouthguard can significantly reduce the risk of dental trauma and improve recovery outcomes when accidents occur.

Common Causes of Dental Injuries

Most dental injuries result from falls, which occur across all age groups. Other frequent causes include violence, road accidents, and contact sports. In recent years, injuries from bicycle riding have also increased.

In children, the highest risk period occurs around two years old when they are learning to walk. Sports-related injuries become more common for boys between eight and nine years old and peak during the teenage years when participation in contact sports is at its highest.

Dentists strongly recommend custom-built pressure laminated mouthguards for athletes and children involved in any contact or high-impact sport.

Factors Influencing Dental Injuries

Dental injuries occur in many situations beyond contact sports. Contributing factors include:

  • Mixed dentition stage in children and adolescents

  • Lack of protective gear in recreational athletes

  • Sports involving hard objects (bats, balls, or sticks)

  • Boxing, martial arts, and collision sports

  • Existing dental restorations such as crowns, bridges, or implants

  • Improper or no mouthguard use

The Australian and American Dental Associations both support the use of custom-fitted mouthguards for effective protection. Even non-contact sports like basketball and softball are now showing increased rates of dental injuries due to aggressive play.

Players not wearing a mouthguard are 60 times more likely to sustain dental trauma, and contact sport athletes face a one in ten chance of injury per season and one in three over their careers.

Understanding the Type and Impact of Injuries

The pattern and severity of dental injuries depend on:

  • The energy and direction of the impact

  • The location of the blow

  • The resilience of the surrounding tissues

Advancements in thermoforming technology have improved the design of custom mouthguards, ensuring proper thickness, fit, and durability tailored to specific sports.

Emergency and Delayed Dental Trauma Management

Dental professionals now categorise injury treatment by urgency:

Acute treatment (immediate attention) – Required for injuries such as avulsions, extrusive luxations, and alveolar fractures. Quick repositioning of an avulsed tooth—ideally within five minutes—greatly improves recovery outcomes.

Subacute treatment (within several hours) – Suitable for injuries like intrusive luxation, minor luxation injuries, crown fractures, or pulp exposure. Early intervention, even if not immediate, can restore function and aesthetics effectively.

Delayed treatment (after 24 hours) – Used for certain primary teeth or cases where immediate treatment isn’t possible. Advances such as Cvek pulpotomy using biocompatible materials like mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) have proven to deliver high success rates (up to 98%).

More severe cases involving multiple fractures or crown-root damage may require tooth extraction. Future reconstruction, such as dental implant placement, is considered once jaw development is complete, generally after age 21.

Mouthguard Design and Innovation

Future mouthguard technology will continue evolving. New materials of varying thickness and hardness, combined with pressure laminating methods and balanced occlusion design, will further reduce the risk of injury. Innovative designs with integrated air spaces may also improve energy absorption during impact.

The Importance of Expert Dental Treatment

Appropriate, evidence-based management of traumatic dental injuries is key to preserving teeth and avoiding long-term complications. Early diagnosis, treatment precision, and follow-up care can mean the difference between tooth survival and tooth loss. Dr. Daniel Kaufman had a comprehensive knowledge and had helped many children and adults recover from trauma following sport and road trauma. For ones care following dental trauma please make an appointment.

Play It Safe, Wear a Mouthguard in Glen Iris.

The Importance of Mouthguards: Preventing Dental Injuries in Sports

Every year, thousands of children and adults suffer dental injuries that could have been prevented or reduced by simply wearing a mouthguard. The Australian Dental Association highly recommends using a mouthguard in any sport or activity where there is a risk of collision or facial contact. Dental injuries often occur during activities we least expect—so it’s always safest to play with a mouthguard.

Who Should Wear a Mouthguard?

High-contact sports such as rugby league/union, AFL, hockey, and boxing are obvious candidates for mouthguard use. However, any sport or activity with potential for facial impact—like cricket, basketball, netball, touch football, and soccer—poses a real risk of dental trauma.

Participants in contact sports know the risks and often protect themselves, but injuries can occur unexpectedly, especially in so-called “non-contact” sports.

The Damage from Sporting Injuries

Dental trauma may include nerve injuries, fractured, cracked, or knocked-out teeth, broken jaws, cut lips, and tongue injuries. Unfortunately, a single dental trauma can mean a lifelong need for restoration and dental work. Fillings, crowns, or root canal therapy may need to be replaced multiple times. Prevention is always best—wear a mouthguard and avoid a lifetime of dental problems.

Proper Protection for Your Mouth

Dr. Kaufman and the Australian Dental Association recommend a custom-fitted mouthguard for anyone playing contact sports or those with a high risk of mouth injury. Custom mouthguards, professionally made by Dr. Kaufman, are far more comfortable, and allow for easier speaking and breathing than ‘boil-and-bite’ mouthguards from a chemist or sports shop. Off-the-shelf guards are generic, may fit poorly, and can even increase injury risk if they move during impact.

Don’t risk your smile—make an appointment with Dr. Kaufman for a custom-fit mouthguard and keep your teeth protected.

Why wear a mouth guard while playing sport in Glen Iris?

Each year, thousands of adults and children are treated for dental injuries that could have been prevented or minimised by simply wearing a mouthguard. The Australian Dental Association strongly recommends the use of a mouthguard in any sport or activity where collision or contact is likely, during both games and training. Often injuries in sports or activities that occur, are those we didn’t even consider to be a danger. It’s always best to ‘play it safe’ and wear a mouthguard to protect your teeth.

Who Needs a Mouthguard?

Anyone who plays a sport or undertakes an activity where collision or contact to the face is a risk should wear a mouthguard. Sports such as rugby union and league, AFL, hockey and boxing are ‘no brainers’ because intentional collision, are part of the game.
However, it is sports where accidental collision occurs that are often responsible for dental trauma, such as cricket, basketball, netball, touch football, and soccer. These sports are considered ‘non-contact’ and yet they also carry a risk of accidental collision.
It does not matter if you are just during training or you are during a game, the risk is always there.

The consequences of an injury to the face.

Dental trauma from sporting injury can include damage to the tooth nerve, fractured, cracked or knocked-out teeth, a broken jaw, damage to the tongue and cut lips. Unfortunately, a single event of dental trauma can lead to a lifelong need for dental treatment in order to maintain the strength and health of the damaged tooth or teeth. Some treatments do not last forever so a damaged tooth will often need attention more than once. Prevention is always better than the cure, so play it safe and wear a mouthguard.

The best protection.

The Australian Dental Association recommends a custom-fitted mouthguard for all those who participate in contact sports or sports with high risk of dental injury. A custom-fitted mouthguard that has been designed by Tooronga Family Dantistry makes breathing and speaking a lot easier when wearing your mouthguard. You are overall a lot more comfortable than the ‘boil-and-bite’ counterparts. These are the mouthguard that you can purchase from a chemist or sports store that offer less protection as they are ill-fitted and loose in the mouth, which can be dangerous during impact or they may come out altogether.
It is important to stay safe when playing sports, don’t let an injury take away the fum from the game.

Loose Tooth in a Child? Glen Iris Family Dentistry Advice for Parents

A loose tooth in your child’s mouth isn’t always a sign that a permanent tooth is ready to come out. Kids in Glen Iris sometimes bump or knock their teeth while playing or falling. If your child’s tooth becomes loose unexpectedly, book an emergency appointment with the Glen Iris dental team at Tooronga Family Dentistry to rule out infection or damage to the underlying permanent tooth.

When Should a Loose Tooth Worry Glen Iris Parents?

  • Children typically lose their teeth in the same order they appeared, starting around age 6.

  • If a tooth is loose “too early” or not in the usual order, don’t try to pull it out—it may cause pain or unnecessary trauma.

  • If you’re unsure why a tooth is mobile, or it seems out of sequence for your child, get in touch with your Glen Iris dentist for advice.

When “Baby Teeth Hang On” Too Long

Sometimes baby teeth linger when the adult teeth below are ready to erupt. If baby teeth aren’t removed, they can force the permanent teeth to erupt in the wrong spot, which may result in bite misalignment or crowding.
In cases where a permanent tooth breaks through behind or in the wrong position (for example, the upper front tooth erupting behind the lower), prompt extraction and dental assessment are needed to prevent future orthodontic complications.

If your child is having issues with permanent teeth coming through, contact Tooronga Family Dentistry in Glen Iris for a thorough evaluation and a gentle, effective treatment plan.

Why Mouthguards Matter for Sport in Glen Iris: Tooronga Family Dentistry’s Guide

Do you play sports, martial arts, or cycle around Glen Iris? If you don’t regularly wear a mouthguard, consider the risk—a single accident could mean a missing front tooth or even damage to your TMJ jaw joint. Nearly 40% of dental trauma in kids is due to sports injuries.

How Mouthguards Protect Your Teeth

Mouthguards act as elastic bumpers, absorbing and distributing the force of a blow—helping prevent fractures, tooth loss (avulsion), and even concussion.

Which Mouthguard Should You Choose?

  • Ready-Made Mouthguards:
    Cheap, sold at chemists or sports shops. Often uncomfortable, poor fit, hard to speak or breathe with, and can easily fall out during activity.

  • “Boil and Bite” Mouthguards:
    DIY style, better fit than ready-made. Still bulky, can make speaking difficult, and may loosen during vigorous play.

  • Custom Fitted Mouthguards:
    The best for protection, comfort, and durability. Research—including a Journal of Athletic Training study—shows custom mouthguards reduce concussion risk by over 50%. These are made to closely fit your teeth, retain well, and many athletes find breathing and speaking much easier. Personalize color and even add your name, all at Tooronga Family Dentistry in Glen Iris.

Take Action for Your Smile & Safety

Don’t gamble with your health or appearance! Whether you’re an adult or child, protect your teeth, gums, and jaw with a custom mouthguard.
Tooronga Family Dentistry can create guards in your choice of colors and add your name. Book your appointment today and play with confidence.