The Hard Facts About Dental and Orofacial Injury

Mouth guards and face protection can help prevent traumas to the face, head, eyes, and mouth, which are among the most common types of injuries. (Source: Centers for Disease Control)

Football, basketball, baseball and soccer account for about 80% of all sports-related emergency room visits for children between 5 and 14 years of age. (Source: Centers for Disease Control)

One out of three boys and one out of four girls will experience a dental injury by the time they finish high school. (Source: dentaguard.com)

Before mandatory orofacial protection in football (1962), 50 percent of all injuries in football were orofacial. After required use of protection, only three percent of football injuries are orofacial. (Source: dentaguard.com)

It is estimated that annually more than 200,000 orofacial injuries are prevented because of mandatory mouth guard wear in football. (Source: dentaguard.com)

Hard tissue trauma of the mouth and lower face was reported to be 60 times more likely for athletes who did not wear mouth guards. Five million teeth will be knocked out of U.S. kids and teens while playing sports this year alone. (Source: dentaguard.com)

150,000 bicycle riders visit emergency rooms each year. Children between the ages of 5 and 15 are the highest number of those affected. (Source: National Bicycle Safety Network)