Mountain biking dental injuries
In case you don’t keep up with the latest Injury Prevention Literature Updates, a recent article may be of interest:
Mountain biking is considered an extreme sport, causing not only head and neck injuries, but also injuries to every part of the body. Using standardised interview, the aim of this work was to survey the frequency of dental injuries in mountain biking, as well as the behaviour of athletes after experiencing dental trauma, depending on their intensity level. Furthermore, habits of wearing helmets and mouthguards as well as knowledge about the tooth rescue kit were investigated. A total of 423 male mountain bikers from Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland were surveyed for this study, including 50 juniors from Switzerland. 27 athletes (5.7%) had endured tooth accidents in mountain biking. Only 246 (52%) were aware of the fact that avulsed teeth can be replanted, and only 30 individuals knew about the tooth rescue kit (6.3%). 71.9% (n=340) were familiar with mouthguards; however, only 21 individuals (4.4%) used mouthguards while mountain biking. The results show that where mountain biking is concerned, more information about prevention is required.
I have to admit I’ve never heard of the tooth rescue kit and I don’t use a mouthguard when mountain biking. I’m also not sure what “avulsed teeth” are but they don’t sound pretty. Can anyone attest to the powers of prevention when it comes to dental injuries and mountain biking? No photos please 
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October 20th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
An avulsed tooth is just a tooth that has been knocked out and can be re-implanted as long as you do it within 60 minutes to possibly save it. I always use a mouth piece when I am DH racing or riding very aggressively.
July 28th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
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