Preventing Facial Trauma Injuries with Mouth Guards

Transcription:

Bill Klaproth (host): This is OMS Voices, an AAOMS podcast. I'm Bill Klaproth. And with me is Dr. Robert Flint, who is here to discuss preventing facial trauma injuries with face and mouth guards. Dr. Flint, thanks for being here.

Dr. Robert Flint: Good morning, Bill. Thanks for having me.

Bill Klaproth (host): You betcha. It's great to see you. So first off, let's get right into this, who should wear facial protection?

Dr. Robert Flint: Well, anybody participating in any type of activity, whether it's sports or not, where they could sustain injuries to the face, a small blow such as an elbow or a fist just, you know, playing around sometimes and also, obviously, in any significant athletic event.

Bill Klaproth (host): Right. The errant elbow in a basketball game, right?

Dr. Robert Flint: I grew up in the Karl Malone era. And call Karl Malone was known for his elbows. So yeah, if you want to prevent that from happening, you wear a mouthguard.

Bill Klaproth (host): Absolutely. So, we just mentioned basketball. What are some other sports that one should use facial protection?

Dr. Robert Flint: Well, realistically, it's a variety of sports. Anything as soft as even basketball we've talked about or things are a little bit more contact event, such as football or hockey, and even such as motorcross. My son and I raced motorcross years ago. We wore all the protective gear, helmets, neck guards, and chest guards, so the whole nine yards. But one time, he was going over what we call the tabletop. He got kicked a little funny. He got bucked off his bike. Next thing we know, he came up, he was fully protected with the exception that his neck guard came up, hit him in the jaw, broke a couple of teeth, and he didn't have a mouth guard in. So from that point on, we continued to ride with mouth guards.

Bill Klaproth (host): Absolutely. Good thing he had a dad who's an OMS, right?

Dr. Robert Flint: Well, nothing broken other than some teeth, but that was fortunate.

Bill Klaproth (host): Right. Absolutely. So, when you think of hockey, right? Even soccer with heading the ball sometimes, protection with the teeth, using the mouth guard for that.

Dr. Robert Flint: Absolutely.

Bill Klaproth (host): So, what advice would you give when looking for a mouth guard? Is it one-size-fits-all or what should we be looking for?

Dr. Robert Flint: No, no. Mouth guards, face guards, helmets, all those things are all custom fit. Everybody's heads shape is a little bit different. Everybody's face shape is a little bit different, and especially in the mouth. So, mouth guards should be custom. You can buy the quick one over-the-counter boil-and-fit type of thing, which is actually better than nothing. But the custom fit would be better because people's teeth change and shift. And in the adolescent years, obviously, there's what we call a mixed dentition, where there are baby and adult teeth. Those are constantly moving and changing. So realistically, for proper protection, you should have it custom fitted.

Bill Klaproth (host): And where should we go to get this custom fit mouth guard?

Dr. Robert Flint: You can go to your dentist. And even there are some dentists who are trained and taught by certain companies. Obviously, it's proprietary, But those companies teach how to fit and make their mouth guards to be the most protective they can.

Bill Klaproth (host): Right. And then, what criteria should be followed when we're comparing mouth guards?

Dr. Robert Flint: You want to look at mouth guards that obviously cover all of the teeth, top or bottom, depending on which one you're wearing, those that are lightweight, those that are resistant to tear and injury. Other things, they want it to be strong and obviously very easy to clean and take care of.

Bill Klaproth (host): You were talking about your son earlier. How is an OMS a key expert in treating facial injuries?

Dr. Robert Flint: Well, that's actually part of our training, okay? OMS stands for oral and maxillofacial surgery. So, we take care of injuries of the face, and we're highly trained in that. Depending on what program you attend, that can be anywhere from a four to six-year program. And so, a lot of that training has to do with facial injuries.

Bill Klaproth (host): Right. So as we wrap up on talking about preventing facial trauma injuries with face and mouth guards, anything you'd like to add, Dr. Flint?

Dr. Robert Flint: I would just say anybody participating in any type of activity where they could receive a blow to the face. Sometimes we don't always think about it. I mean, you wouldn't normally think soccer. But just like you said, if you're heading the ball, the teeth come together. You know, you're pushing and shoving. You can get an elbow to the face. Anytime there's a possible contact of the face, facial protection should be used and also mouth protection.

Bill Klaproth (host): Well, it seems like better safe than sorry. So, you should probably think about it. "You know what I might get caught with an elbow in the face. I better be prepared for this.

Dr. Robert Flint: Exactly.

Bill Klaproth (host): Right on. Well, thank you so much for your time. This has been great. Dr. Flint, thank you for being here.

Dr. Robert Flint: Thank you. I appreciate your time.

Bill Klaproth (host): You bet. And that's Dr. Robert Flint. And for more information in the full podcast library, please visit MyOMS.org. And if you found this podcast to be interesting, please share it on your social media and don't forget to subscribe. Thanks for listening.