Approximately 60,000 people will injure their faces annually while playing baseball and more than 100,000 people suffer facial injuries due to bicycle accidents. It is estimated 10% of soccer injuries involve the mouth and facial regions, and at least one half of them occur in children. Dr. John Roberson, D.M.D, focuses on public awareness of facial protection as well as specialized treatment for facial injuries.

The American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons(www.aaoms.org), the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry(www.aapd.org) and the American Association of Orthodontics(www.braces.org) are teaming up to promote the use of seatbelts, mouth guards during sports, and regular use of helmets. As the old saying goes, “An Ounce of Prevention is Still Worth a Pound of Cure”. Here are some statistics as they relate to sports, splatters and spills:

• Mouth guards range from $5.00(low-end bought in store) to $150.00(top of the line custom fit)
• Replacement costs for a single knocked out tooth can surpass the price of a custom-made mouth guard by 20 times
• Protective eyewear for racquetball, basketball, tennis and other sports, cost on an average of $20.00
• Bicycle helmets average cost is $25.00
• Helmets for downhill skiing average $70.00
• Football helmets cost approximately $60.00

PRACTICE FACT:
Safechild.net reports that 60(sixty) percent of organized sports-related injuries occur during practice rather than during games. This reinforces that safety precautions are always necessary!

HELMET FACTS:
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that universal helmet use could:

• Save one life each day
• Prevent one head injury every four minutes

FACEGUARDS SAVING FACE:
A study in the February 2003 Journal of American Medical Association showed that players who used faceguards(a device made of plastic or metal that is attached to a baseball helmet) were 35 percent less likely to suffer facial injuries than non-users.

FURTHER STATS:

• 5 Million teeth will be knocked out of U.S. Youth while they play sports
• Approximately 200,000 oral injuries will be prevented by mouth guard use
• ThinkFirst states that 70-80% of bicycle fatalities involve head injury; Bicycle helmets are 85-88% effective in preventing head injuries but only 18% wear them
• Bicycle-related head injuries account for more than 150,000 Emergency Room visits annually
• 50% of head injuries are due to bicycling, skateboarding or skating incidents
• Sports and recreational activities contribute to 21% of all traumatic brain injuries among American children
• 4,000 facial injuries occur yearly to soccer players but only 7% use mouth guards
• 85,000 children ages 5 – 14 were treated in Emergency Rooms for soccer-related injuries