Remember putting your tooth under your pillow, anxious for the next morning to see how much money a mystical fairy left you? After all your adult teeth come in, the tooth fairy is the last person you would want to be reminded about. Dental injuries are becoming more common for student athletes.

“I got hit in the face with a tennis racket, and I chipped a tooth and destroyed my lip” junior Kurtis Neal said.

“When an injury occurs, come to us, then we will refer you to your dentist,” athletic trainer Chris Austin says. “He also estimates that about five dental injuries happen per year at AHS.

“Once a kid gets hurt, they will want to wear a mouth guard,” varsity boy’s basketball assistant coach Gabe Romano said. He sees at least one dental injury per season on the court.
Replacing teeth or repairing them can be very expensive.

Mouth guards are cheap compared to the cost of dental repair, and are sold at many sporting goods stores. They can be custom made, so they are comfortable and athletes can wear them and still able to communicate with others while playing their sport.

Despite the fun that is had during sports, there are always consequences that may regard a visit from the tooth fairy.