Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Youth lacrosse: Advanced protection
A rule requires all lacrosse players to wear mouth guards during games and practices.
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
Emily Holter (18), who plays lacrosse for the Salem Snapping Turtles, heads downfield during a game against the Hidden Valley Little Lady Falcons.
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When Madeline Hester plays lacrosse, she wears shin guards, thigh guards, chest guards, a helmet and a mouth guard. The 10-year-old is heavily padded, but she knows why.
"It's a very hard ball and it's going very fast," said Madeline, who also has shin guards and a mouth guard for soccer.
She's the lacrosse goalie, so she wears much more padding than the rest of her elementary school-age teammates, but all of the Salem Snapping Turtles wear eye protection and mouth guards.
In fact, it's a U.S. Lacrosse rule that all players wear mouth guards during games and practices.
"It's a contact sport, so you definitely want to have your teeth in something," said Josh Wilkinson, coordinator of the Roanoke Valley Lacrosse Association and varsity lacrosse coach at Patrick Henry High School.
April is National Facial Protection Month and the American Association of Orthodontists says that a child should wear a mouth guard anytime his or her face could come in contact with something hard.
"They [mouth guards] can protect from having teeth avulsed, which means knocked out," said Roanoke orthodontist Penny Lampros. She said the use of a mouth guard can also protect the wearer from biting down on soft tissues like the lip or cheek when getting hit.
The association's Web site said a mouth guard can also protect against jaw and neck injuries.
Along with the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the orthodontists association recommends the use of a mouth guard when playing football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, lacrosse, ice and field hockey, softball, soccer or wrestling.
The Virginia High School League requires players to use a mouth guard during football, lacrosse and field hockey, as well as when playing certain positions in other sports and under special circumstances, such as if a wrestler wears braces.
Even though players can't participate in a game without one, many lacrosse coaches say they would require their team members to wear mouth guards regardless of the rules.
"Without a doubt," Wilkinson said.
"Absolutely," said David Turk, head varsity coach at Salem High School and director of Salem Lacrosse. "You always want a kid to have a mouthpiece because you never want anyone to get hurt unnecessarily."
Lampros said that orthodontic patients should talk with their doctors before deciding on the best mouth guard, but the price of an over-the-counter guard ranges from about $1 to $30. If the athlete doesn't lose it, the guard can last for an entire season and Lampros said guards are well worth the price.
"The cost of any dental injury will far exceed the cost of a mouth guard," Lampros said. "Your facial structures are so important, an injury will effect you functionally, socially and later on in life, it will effect you professionally."
