Unless you are ready to spend quite a bit of time and money replacing missing teeth, chances are good that you would like to make sure your natural chompers last as long as possible. A good oral hygiene regimen coupled with avoiding dangerous foods can go a long way in making sure that your teeth stay healthy. However, it is also important to guard your teeth against chipping, breaking, and, most of all, getting knocked out. Below, we have listed a few more outdoor activities that pose a risk to your teeth.

• Sports: Whether you enjoy playing a pickup game of basketball, a friendly game of kickball, or a little ultimate frisbee, sports have, traditionally, been one of the most dangerous activities for a person’s teeth. While organized sports, such as those played in high school and college, tend to require the use of mouthguards, less organized sports leave tooth protection up to the individual. If you enjoy playing sports with your friends, you may want to look into purchasing a mouthguard. It may not be the “coolest” accessory, but if you take a kickball to the face, you’ll be happy that you have a little protection.

• Rock Climbing: This outdoor activity is dangerous for your teeth, just maybe not in the way you first assume. Falling while rock climbing is, understandably, a bad situation. Luckily, most people tend to use ropes and anchors to make sure that a small slip does not result in death. Not so luckily, these ropes and anchors have a nasty tendency to whip climbers against the rocky face they are trying to scale. When this happens, there is a chance that the climber will hit their face against some sort of hard protuberance. Even a small fall can result in a tooth getting knocked out so, once again, we suggest that you wear a mouthguard during this activity to make sure that your teeth are as protected as possible.

Thank you for reading our short blog series on outdoor activities that are dangerous for your teeth. As always, if you are interested in learning more about our Encino dentist office and the services that we provide, please visit our website or give us a call today.