Dental Implants and Hockey Players
Posted by Annmarie SanSevero
My son just finished his junior year of the hockey season. But, in the middle of the season he ended up losing a tooth. He’s getting married in a few months and really wanted it fixed. We thought a dental implant would be the best replacement so we went ahead and had the implant placed. Some of his friends mentioned that he won’t want that because he could get re-injured next year. What would be the best replacement for him that will still allow his smile to look good?
Adelaide
Dear Adelaide,
That is quite an interesting conundrum. You guys were thinking the right way with when it came to finding him the best tooth replacement. Dental implants are the closest thing to having a healthy tooth in your mouth. His teammates were also correct. If there is a second injury the implant could rip through your jawbone.
Don’t stress, though. You haven’t done anything wrong. In fact, you are ahead of the game. You’ve already placed the implant. Keep that. It will preserve the jaw bone in that area. Then, when he is done with his hockey career, you can finally bond the dental crown to the implant.
In the meantime, there are tons of temporary replacements that will give him a nice smile but won’t do damage to his jawbone. I know you are worried about the appearance of his smile. The key there is to take him to a good cosmetic dentist, one who has invested in post-doctoral training in smile makeovers.
I would look for a dentist who is AACD accredited. He can give you all the options for a removable tooth replacement so that if he gets hit with a puck, the temp replacement will not take any of his jaw with it. But, with their cosmetic skill they can give him something that blends right in with the rest of his teeth.
Congratulations on the upcoming wedding!
This blog is brought to you by a skilled cosmetic dentist in Franklin, TN, Dr. Christopher Weber.
