When I opened up last Thursday’s Province Newspaper Sports I saw a big picture of Canucks forward Mason Raymond showing off his newly fractured teeth courtesy of battling for the puck in Canucks win in Game 5. Well, next thing, I am driving home on Friday and he is being interviewed on Team 1040 radio, and all everyone can talk about is his busted teeth.
As the Canuck team dentist I would rather have Mason get publicity over a winning goal than his busted teeth. I think as Canadians we seem to think that hockey players and lost teeth go together like peanut butter and jam. I think we romanticize our hockey heroes with a lost tooth particularly during the playoffs. If you listened carefully to his interview he also said that he was wearing his mouthguard at the time. Let me say it again, the damage he received occurred while wearing his mouthguard. It’s important to understand that had he not worn that mouthguard, those teeth would surely have been knocked out of his mouth and he would have had a more serious injury to deal with.
As it was, he was able to keep on playing and contributing to the big win against San Jose and allow me to deal with fixing his busted teeth after the game. Hockey accidents like Mason’s don’t happen as often anymore because more of our NHL players use the excellent fitting guards the WestcoastSmile dentistry team makes for them. This is a good time for me to remind all amateur players in all sports to get a custom-fitted mouthguard and WEAR IT. It will save your teeth and your smile.
