I need some advice. My son is on a college hockey team and recently lost a tooth in a game. We’ve never had this happen before. College seems much rougher than high school teams. I wanted to give him the best replacement so I want to provide him with a dental implant. However, his teammates think that is a bad idea because he’s likely to get hit in the mouth again. What do you recommend I do?

Elise

Dear Elise,

 

I imagine it is a tad frightening being the mother of a hockey player. Even with a mouthguard, which I recommend no matter what the sport, there is a greater risk of damage to the tooth. Thinking about what your son’s teammates said, it makes sense. If there is a permanent replacement and the tooth is injured again, it could very likely rip bone out with it. So, how can you give your son the best tooth replacement, while protecting him from even worse damage?

First, I will say your choice of a dental implant is fantastic. That is what I would want to recommend to anyone who has to replace a tooth. However, his situation requires some creative planning. What I would suggest is that you go ahead and have the prosthetic root form of the dental implant placed, but hold off on the crown restoration. Once his hockey career is done, then you can have a porcelain crown bonded onto his implant.

In the meantime, he still needs a tooth unless he enjoys looking like a hillbilly from a 1930s sitcom. My suggestion would be something temporary, that cannot cause any damage if he is hit forcefully in his mouth again. An inexpensive one is a dental flipper. He can have an attractive, normal-looking smile.

Best of luck to your son in his hockey career and I hope you won’t feel too stressed in the meantime.

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