Back when there was no technology to provide skating ice year-round, a frozen pond is all people had. This meant that only places that stayed cold enough for long enough could enable hockey playing. These days many games are played indoors but in these cold regions hockey can be, and still is, played outdoors on ice.
It’s no coincidence that these places still have a thriving hockey culture to this day despite technology making ice possible anywhere at any time. New Hampshire, for example, is ranked 8th place in terms of percentage of population that is registered with USA Hockey. Many of these player will likely participate in the 2023 Black Ice Pond Hockey Tournament that’s held in nearby Concord. Others might play outdoor hockey in Nashua at Jeff Morin Fields, Labine Park, or Four Corners park. All of these great opportunities for outdoor hockey also mean hockey-related dental injuries, however.
Many players on a non-professional level don’t bother with mouthguards and risk dental injury as a result. One study found that 16% of all injuries from ice hockey are oral injuries. These injuries often require an emergency trip to a dentist like Nashua Dental Group.
Once an injury does happen, the road to recovery could be long, but Nashua Dental Group has the specialists needed for many injuries sustained from ice hockey. Here are some options your dentist may discuss wit you on the road to recovery.
- Saving the avulsed or loose teeth – A tooth that has fallen out can be kept in milk, saliva, or saline to preserve it on the way to the dentist. Just make sure not to touch the root of the tooth. The dentist can then determine if the tooth can be saved. If the teeth have just become loose and haven’t fallen out, it’s key to keep them in place as much as possible to increase the odds of the dentist saving them. Regardless, you will want to see a dentist as soon as possible.
- Fixing a chipped tooth – If a tooth is chipped instead of coming loose, the dentist should be able to fix the function, feel, and cosmetic appearance of the tooth with dental bonding.
- Replacing a missing tooth with a dental bridge – If saving the tooth is not an option, then one of the treatment options a dentist may recommend is a dental bridge. This dental prostheses is anchored onto neighboring teeth, ‘bridging’ the gap where the missing tooth was.
- Replacing a missing teeth with a dental implants – As an alternative to a dental bridge, the dentist may recommend a dental implant. This is a metal screw that’s placed into the jaw bone and topped with the dental restoration. This treatment has the advantage of reducing the amount of bone resorption that normally happens at a site of a missing tooth.
Since Nashua Dental Group has a periodontist, a specialist that places dental implants and cares for the gums and jaw bone, it makes the office a great place to treat ice hockey injuries since all the treatments can be done in one place.
If you got injured while playing hockey and need a dentist in or near Nashua, we encourage you book a dental consultation at Nashua Dental Group. The dental team specializes in replacing missing teeth and cosmetic dentistry making it a great match for ice hockey injuries.