Hockey is an exciting sport that teenagers love because it allows them to get rough. However, it can be a very devastating sport to a person's dental health. If your teenager took a puck to the teeth and is now sporting a smile with a lot of gaps, it is time to consider All-on-4 implants.

One Puck to the Face Can Cost a Mouthful of Teeth

Hockey is known as a nightmare sport for dentists because they often end up with over a dozen patients during the competitive season. That's because hockey is one of the toughest contact sports, including tough legal hits, illegal hits, and even fights. While most of that is minimized in your teen's league, there is still a chance that they could take a puck to the face and need immediate emergency dental surgery. 

All-On-4 Implants Can Help

If you've never heard of All-on-4 implants, it is time that you did. These implants are not the same thing as dentures because they don't fit on your gums but go inside. They are essentially full-mouth implants that provide your teenager with a new set of teeth, replacing any that they may have lost during their hockey game.

The nice thing about these implants is that you can get them in a variety of styles. For example, you can replace just one tooth if that's all your teen has lost or multiple teeth throughout their mouth. And if necessary, you can get all of them replaced if a stray puck smashes into their face and causes their teeth to fall from their mouth like raindrops.

Insurance Can Help

If your teen hockey player is still on your dental insurance, you are in luck. That's because your insurance may cover an All-on 4 replacement procedure. It all depends on what your policy is willing to cover and what they have to say on implants. If you can get a dentist to state that this procedure is the best one for your teen, you can convince your insurance to cover this procedure. While you'll still have to cover your co-pay and any types of payments set up by your insurance, you will pay a fraction of the cost of what All-on-4 usually costs people.

So, if your teenager just took a puck to the mouth or could at any time, don't hesitate to keep this option open. It might just save their smile and avoid the kind of dental problems that plague life-long hockey players, whether they are amateur, collegiate, or pro. To learn more about All-on-4 implant rehabilitation, talk to your dental professional today.