Practical clinical applications of sports dentistry in private practice

Preparing a practice to become "trauma-ready" involves more than educating the dentist and the staff in the proper management of dentofacial trauma. All members of the office should understand their roles in preventing and treating trauma. They must be willing to provide care after hours when called upon to do so. Dentists who want to be more involved might wish to volunteer their services as sports dentists for local school or recreational league teams. The dentist who is conscious of his or her patients who are at risk for sports-related trauma will also find others in the practice who might benefit from many of the same protective devices that are being constructed for athletes. These include children involved in higher-risk activities, developmentally disabled patients, patients undergoing general anesthesia, and others. Being trauma-ready may open up several rewarding activities for the practice because of the many spin-off applications. The trauma-ready practice must also be cognizant of the some-times perplexing legal and insurance issues with regard to preventing and treating sport-related injuries. In addition to lowering the risk exposure to the practice, the dentist can help ensure the maximum third-party benefits for the patient.