Help prevent sport injuries this summer

August 7, 2009 | Posted by admin

Several inexpensive safety precautions can help prevent costly injuries during the summer sport season.

A child’s mouth and face can easily be injured if the correct precautions and equipment are not uesd during organized  sports. In fact, sports-related injuries are the leading cause of emergency room visits in 12 to 17 years old and a typical emergency room visit for a child can cost a lot of if not prevented. A new survey however, reveals parent do not enforce the use of some inexpensive protective sports gear, such as mouth guards in many kids sports. Since many oral sports injuries can be prevented by wearing mouth guards, why aren’t more parents and kids getting the message?

To help educate parents, coaches, and kids a wife of football great Joe Montana and the mother of two sons Jennifer Montana, urge the atheletes to “play it safe” by wearing mouth guards and other appropriate protective gear when participating in many sports and activities. 

Survey of parents to dentemine why many preventable face and mouth injuries are still prevalent among young athlets. Overall, the survey results showed the need for better education of parents and coaches about the risks and need for mouth guards and other protective mesaures in contact sports.

The  survey founds:

• Mouth guard use is very low-67% of parents surveyed said that their child does not wear a mouth guard yet, 70% said that their biggest fear when their child plays organized sports is that they will get hurt. One out of every four (27%) parents surveyed during an organizes sport that resulted in a trip to emergency room.
• Most coaches and leagues are not advising the use of mouth guards-Of the parents whose children do not wear a mouth guard during organized sports, including practice, 84% said it’s because the league or coach does not require it.
• Many parents have misconception on which sports kids should wear mouth guards. The sports parents most cited that mouth guard be requires for include, football(90%), roller/ice hockey(74%) and wrestling(65%). Less than half of parents surveyed felt mouth guards were necessary for other popular sports, including baskerball(36%),baseball/softball(37%) and soccer(45%). Only 3% said that cheerleading should reauire the use of mouth guards. Collision and contact sports have higher injury rates, and mouth guards should be worn in all contact sports. Specifically, baseball, soccer, basketball and football account for about 80% of all sport-related emergency room visits for children between 5 and 14 years of age. Cheerleading is one of the most dangerous sports for women, accounting for 65% of all catastrophic injuries in high school girls’s atheletics.
• Children with braces need to wear mouth guards. One out of every three(31%) parents reported that their child had orthodontic treatment or braces while playing an organized sports. Children in orthodontic treatment should wear a mouth guard during organized sports and practice. Patients can sustain mouth lacerations if braces are hit with a ball or by another player.

Just remember these important tips:

• Wear mouth guards for contact sports. Mouth guards can help prevent jaw, mouth and teeth injuries and are less costly than repairing an injury.
• Wear a helmet. Helmets absorb the energy of an impact.
• Wear protective eyewear. Eyes are extremely valuable.
• Wear a face shield to avoid scratched or bruised skin. Hockey pucks, basketball, and racquet balls can do severe damage.

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