I am a hockey player and have lost a tooth in my last practice. I keep hearing that dental implants are the best tooth replacement. Does that hold true for hockey players? It’s a pretty rough game. I didn’t know if there was something better in that case.
Drake
Dear Drake,
I’m glad you wrote. Dental implants are the absolute best tooth replacement available. Your situation, however, requires some lateral thinking. My suggestion is you have the implant itself placed, but not the dental crown that will go on top until you are ready to retire from hockey. Here’s why.
You are likely to get injured again at some point. If you lose the implant, it will take bone with it. That will lead to serious reconstructive work that is preventable. Placing the implant will be important for two reasons. First, it will hold that place open so that your other teeth don’t shift in the interim. Second, it will prevent bone deterioration in that area. The implant signals to your brain that you still have a tooth, which in turn leaves your bone structure in place. Without that, your body will resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body. This shrinks the bone in that area making it impossible to get an implant without additional procedures being done to build back up the bone.
This doesn’t mean you have to go without a tooth that whole time. I am going to suggest you get a dental flipper as a temporary replacement. It won’t interfere with the implant but it won’t do any real damage to you if it gets knocked out during a hockey game.
One thing that will be quite important is for you to make sure whatever dentist you have do the implant procedure has extensive post-doctoral training. Dental implants are not taught in dental school and you are looking at long term planning. Find a qualified dentist.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.