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April Is National Facial Protection Awareness Month

April Is National Facial Protection Awareness Month
by Tammy Adams

Although it may be more appealing (and mouth-watering) to talk about National Donut Month or National Ice Cream Month, April marks another area where awareness is important. It's National Facial Protection Awareness Month.

Woo-hoo! OK, maybe not woo-hoo, but facial protection is a topic worth looking at — especially if you're a dentist or an orthodontist.

Five of the nation's top dental associations, including the American Dental Association, want to remind athletes (young and old) to play it safe by wearing a mouth guard during recreational and competitive sports. Research estimates that about 2 percent of all children or adolescents who participate in sports will eventually suffer a facial injury severe enough to require medical attention.

According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's Policy on Prevention of Sports-related Oculofacial Injuries, sports accidents account for 10 to 39 percent of all dental injuries in children. Most often, these injuries are caused by direct hits to the mouth with a hard object, such as baseball or a hockey puck, and player-to-player contact.

Read full article on MultiBriefs.