How to be a sports dentist?

Now, if you are really interested to practice Sports Dentistry, where can you start? What are the most reliable scientific sources? Where can you get specialized courses?

How to be attached to a club or a team and be a Sports Team Dentist? Is there a specific license or certificate that you should get?

How can you practice as Sports Dentist and deliver Sports Dentistry service in public and/or private dental practice? How can athletes find you and knock your door?

 

So, it is advised that any dentist who wants to perfectly deal with athletes to be aware of some Sports Dentistry issues as:

  1. Alteration of his/her Private Dental Practice vision towards Sports Dentistry as: implementation of intelligent questions during history taking to explore athletes among his/her old or new patients in general dental practice, strictly following pre-participation dental examination guidelines and return to play dental guidelines, printing some publications, …..etc. These steps of transformation will be discussed later in details.
  2. Be regularly updated about various statistics of sports-related dento-facial injuries (as soft tissue injuries, jaw fractures, TMJ injuries, tooth intrusion, crown and root fractures, and avulsion) and well trained in different management techniques. Moreover, it is advised to have some idea about other sports related injuries.
  3. Acquires the necessary communicating verbal skills for addressing on-site first aid. The first minutes or even seconds after accidents could be very critical or even lifesaving. He/she may get a call from a coach, a parent or even the team physician seeking for help.
  4. Knows the differences and variations in fit and levels of protection offered by different types of mouth guards, new advances in mouthguard’s materials, fabrication techniques and uses (as 3D printed and remotely communicated mouthguards).
  1. Knows the correlation between Neuro-muscular Dentistry and Sports Dentistry, TMD (Tempro Mandibular Disorders) in sports, inadequate articulation and gait, orthotic devices and/or performance enhancing appliances. True or false?
  1. Dental implication of female sports as hormonal effects and female triad.
  1. Traveling issues in Sports Dentistry that would include early implementation of dental management plans to minimize the possibility of discomfort or even sever pain of dental origin while being far from home. It would also include other Sports Medicine travelling issues.
  1. Medico-legal issues in Sports Dentistry.
  2. Be engaged as a professional dentist in the sports events and world’s fight against doping and be aware of for example WADA and the code, NADO, Labs, prohibited drugs or methods, materials or medicines to be taken cautiously in dentistry, possible complications or hazards that could be faced within dental practice when dealing with athletes consuming prohibited material or method, pro-hormones products safety that are sold freely in some pharmacies or sports good stores in many countries…etc.
  3. Understands athletic nutrition and the supplementary drinks, oral manifestations of some athletic eating disorders as anorexia athletica, anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
  4. Understands some hazardous athletic habits as excessive use of chewing gum, tobacco (dipping and chewing) and related substances abuse among some athletes and oral piercing.
  5. Realizes and manages effects of swimming pool sports on athletic oral health.
  6. Knows scuba diving mouth syndrome and how to fabricate custom scuba diving mouthpiece or modify stock mouthpieces.
  7. Correlates between Sports Dentistry vision and type of sport, age, gender, level of competition, position of the player (Goal keeper, defender, wing, …), past medical history as brain concussion or facial bony fracture, …etc.
  8. Follows recent researches on Sports Dentistry.

STEP 1: Search for athletes: these may be some helpful ideas

  1. Search in your country/area:
    • Some countries or universities are interested in hiring dentists in organized sports medicine projects e.g. research labs, centers, hospitals, …etc.
    • Be an athlete yourself and enjoy the healthful benefits of sports participation. The new public relations will certainly have positive impacts on your private practice in general and on Sports Dentistry in particular.
    • Be a member of athletic fan groups.
    • Be attached or a member of many clubs, youth centers, gym centers,…etc.
    • Popularize yourself as a sports dentist in Media as TV, radio, newspapers, … etc.
    • Popularize your new sports dentist service by making some Sports Dentistry publications carrying your name, logo, phone number, address, …etc, distributed through your website, posters, flyers, trauma cards on the first aid.
    • Give them good offers as:
      • If you will inform me about the league schedule, I can manage athletic injuries in sports fields (Dental &/or non-dental), or I will be in my dental clinic at that time, or only on call.
      • I can pre-season screening examination (free of charge or with discount …%).
      • I can afford veneers, bridges, mouth guards, … (with discount …%).

 

  1. Search among your patients (old or new):
    • Search among old patients sheets:
  • Profession data e.g. referee, player, trainer, …
  • History or clinical procedures of sports related trauma, dental erosion, bruxism, on special sports regime or medicine, …
  • photo with sportswear.
  • Add some intelligent questions during your new patients interview or old patients visits for treatment or checkups as:
  • Are you involved in any sports’ activities? If Yes,
  • What are these sports?
  • What is your participation level: (amateur/professional), (local/international)? Or you are practicing sports only for leisure?
  • Ask for any special medicine, history of trauma, TMD, MG ……etc.

 

STEP 2: Learn Sports Dentistry: these may be some suggested helpful local and global ideas

  1. Web sites:
    1. Our website: Sports Dentistry on Web

http://www.sportsdentistry.info. It is now under complete renovation and will soon be republished.

  1. Website of ASD (Academy for sports Dentistry) http://www.academyforsportsdentistry.org/

 

  1. Memberships: try to be attached to specialized active organizations or groups as:
    1. EGSD (Egyptian Group of Sports Dentistry).
    2. Membership of ASD (Academy for sports Dentistry). https://www.academyforsportsdentistry.org/

It is a multi-beneficial that would include:

  • Annual Symposium: Great experience, good relations with the icons of Sports Dentistry from all over the world, reduced rates ….etc.
  • Continuing Education: about 14-21 continuing education hours are provided at the annual symposium.
  • Publications: Newsletters (published three times per year), free online and print of the Journal of Dental Traumatology (published six times per year), ASD website publications as ASD Position Statements & Sports Dentistry Bibliography, Mouthguard Brochures (in cooperation with the ADA)
  • ASD Website
  • Networking opportunities
  • Mentorship Program: professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor) assists another (the mentee) in developing specific skills and knowledge that will enhance the less experienced person’s professional and personal growth.
  • ASD Power Point Presentation: for purchase by members of the Academy.
  • Emergency Treatment of Athletic Dental Injuries Cards on reduced rates.
  • Educational Poster.
  • Fellowship Program

and many more ….

  • Publications: you would follow
  1. Dental Traumatology, Official Publication of the International Association for Dental Traumatology and the International Academy of Sports Dentistry. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1600-9657.
  2. The International Journal of Sports Dentistry, Official journal of the Japanese Academy of Sports Dentistry. http://www.quintpub.com/journals/ijsd/gp.php

 

  1. Courses: you would attend
    1. Course of ASD (Academy for sports Dentistry): usually accompanying by the ASD annual meeting.
    2. My courses (preliminary and advanced) at:
      • Egyptian Dental Syndicate.
      • SMSC (Sports Medicine Specialized Center).
      • MIU (Misr International University).

N.B.

To the 2nd year now and on monthly basis, the internship Administration at MIU I am conducting a course / each round on Sports Dentistry for the dental interns.

STEP 3: Enjoy Sports Dentistry: dealing with athletes is one of the most interesting and pleasant experiences you would ever have.

 

UNDER RE-CONSTRUCTION …