Kickboxing can be a great activity for teenagers to use to build muscle strength, self-confidence, and independence. Unfortunately, when sparring, someone can get hit in the mouth and cause damage to their teeth. If your teen loses a tooth during a sparring match, use the following guide to learn what steps to take to have the damage repaired as soon as possible:

Take Your Child to a Dentist Right Away

The first thing you need to do is you need to take your child to the dentist immediately. X-rays need to be taken to make sure that no damage has been done to their jaw or any other areas of their face. If the x-rays show that they simply lost a tooth, the dentist will wait until the swelling decreases and the area is not as tender before doing anything to the missing tooth. This could take a day or two.

Decide What You Want Done to Replace the Tooth

You need to decide if you want to have a flipper created to provide temporary replacement of the missing tooth or if you want to go a more permanent route and have a dental implant put into the place where the tooth is missing in your child's mouth. If your child still has baby teeth that they need to lose or has not had all of their adult teeth grown in yet, a flipper will the best option because it will not impede the growth of the new teeth. A flipper is simply a device that has a fake tooth built onto it that can be slipped in and out of your child's mouth similarly to the way a retainer is used.

Have the Tooth Replaced Permanently

Once your child has all of their adult teeth, you can have a dental implant put into place. Your child's mouth will take some time to heal so it is best to schedule to have the surgery done on a day when they can stay home for the next few days without missing out on any important school work or activity.

A great way to avoid having major dental damage done when sparring is to have a custom mouth guard created for your child. Your child's dentist can make the guard at the dental office quickly and easily. It will be molded to fit around your teen's teeth perfectly to provide maximum protection when they spar.

Contact a dental office like Family First Dentistry LLC for more information and assistance.