Dental Implants and Hockey Players

Posted by writeradmin

My son plays hockey for a professional team. Believe it or not, after all these years, he has lost his first tooth from a game injury. I’d suggested he get a dental implant to replace it, but his teammates told him that would be a bad idea in case there was another injury. I thought that dental implants were the best replacement, so now I am at a loss as to what he should do. He’s doing some research, but I thought I’d write and see what a dentist has to say.

Evelyn

Dear Evelyn,

That is an interesting conundrum. While dental implants are definitely the best tooth replacement, I feel his teammates have a good point (and likely some experience) as to the risk involved. The prosthetic root is implanted into the jawbone. If he was hit in the right spot when the implant was knocked out it could rip the bone and jaw and require some reconstructive surgery. Yet, if he gets a different replacement, that would cause him to gradually lose the bone in that place.

Here is my recommendation. Go ahead and get the dental implant placed, BUT do not place the implant crown. Instead, get a temporary, removable false tooth that can sit on top of the implant without being bonded on. This way, if his tooth is hit, the false tooth can get knocked out without placing any opposing forces on the root form that could do serious damage.

Then, once his hockey days are past him, he can have the dental crown bonded onto his implant and his procedure will be complete. This way, having the implant placed from the beginning will prevent him from any bone loss and having the temporary tooth will protect him from damage. It will give your son the best of both worlds.

One word of caution. Dental implants are an advanced procedure. Your son will need a dentist who has invested in post-doctoral training. Look for someone who is a fellow with the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. They have made an extensive study of dental implants and will be qualified and capable of giving him a secure dental implant.

This blog is brought to you by Mount Dora Dentist Michelle Stillman.