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The Dental First-Aid Kit Every Hockey Player Needs

23 January 2018 by Gregory Price

Whether you have a child that's playing hockey or you yourself do, losing teeth may be a fact of life. Even NHL players say that losing teeth while playing hockey is just part of the game. However, that doesn't mean that those teeth have to be gone forever. By building a dental first-aid kit, you can increase the chances of saving your tooth. Here are three things you need in your dental first-aid kit.

Teabags

Teabags are a wonderful way of simultaneously providing a compress for bleeding gums and increasing the chance of blood clotting to close the wound. Tannins found in tea - particularly black tea - speed up the development of blood clots, so they're an easy thing to add to your kit.

To use a teabag on a wound on your gums, simply open the packaging and place the teabag over the area that's hurt. Then gently bite down on it and allow the blood to wet the teabag. This will help to absorb excess amounts of blood and activate the tannins, slowing down blood flow.

Powdered Milk or Tooth Saving Liquid

Believe it or not, knocked out teeth aren't doomed to be thrown away. With the right steps, you can preserve your knocked-out tooth and have it put back in place by a dentist. However, how you preserve the tooth is important.

The pulp and root of the tooth need to be protected. Simply leaving the tooth out will dry it, making the root unusable, and putting it in water will expose it to a pH level that will damage the root. Instead, use milk or products that are specifically intended to preserve knocked-out teeth.

Since carrying fresh milk isn't practical, put powdered milk and a bottle of water in your kit. You can then mix up some fresh milk and put the tooth in that.

Emergency Dentist's Number

Lastly, make sure that you have the phone number of a reputable and nearby emergency dentist, like Rabel Family Dentistry, in your kit. When it comes to saving a knocked-out tooth, time is of the essence. If you wait too long, even with the best treatment, the tooth will no longer be viable. If it's after standard business hours or your standard dentist's office is closed, you'll need to be able to quickly find a dentist that's open for emergencies. Researching this in advance and keeping their number on you at all times can make a big difference in saving your tooth.

Knocked out teeth might be a fact of life for hockey players, but that doesn't mean you're doomed to have a toothless smile. Take proper precautions during the game to protect your teeth, and in the event that one is knocked out, reach for your new dental first-aid kit for best results.

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