Dental Care for All of Us

Competitive basketball players need to protect their teeth to ensure that they don't end up losing any of their teeth. Unfortunately, regular competition may cause damage to the mouth that could cause loosen teeth and make them fall out later. Thankfully, prosthodontic professionals can help athletes keep strong teeth and to avoid serious health issues as a result of lost teeth.

Loose Teeth Can Be Unexpected

Those who take care of their teeth may be surprised to find a loose tooth that needs to be removed. This problem often occurs in those who participate in various types of sports, particularly competitive sports. For example, those who regularly play basketball may jump, pivot, and even fall while they are playing basketball in a way that can cause a tooth to loosen in the mouth or even fall out.

When teeth fall out, an athlete may find that other areas of their mouth end up suffering from similar damage. That's because losing a tooth puts extra strain on the mouth that can trigger widespread oral health issues that may be hard to predict. As a result, basketball players need to have a prosthodontic professional who can provide them with the help that they need to avoid complications.

How Prosthodontics Can Help

A prosthodontic professional is someone who can install various types of dental corrective devices in a person's mouth. For example, if a basketball player ends up losing a tooth during a game, they can get a replacement from a prosthodontic expert. These can include items such as dental implants — singular false teeth that pressed directly into the gum — and bridges that attach to other teeth to hold the false ones in place for extended periods.

And prosthodontic professionals can also make sure to check how well the implants are settling into the mouth and can adjust them, as needed, to ensure that they don't get severely damaged while a player competes. Some adjustments, such as changes to the positioning of the bridges, also helps to ensure that impact damage doesn't occur.

Once the basketball player gets fitted with these prosthodontic devices, they need to wear devices — such as various types of mouthguards — to ensure that these elements don't get more damaged in unpredictable ways. These mouthguards should be fit by dentists to ensure that they fit the new teeth and protect a basketball player's health as much as possible.

Contact a resource like the New England Dental Specialists of Norwood for more information.