Yahoo Sports Root Canals, Invisalign & Flippers For Family Photos: Capitals Share Reality Of Tooth Injuries & Why So Many Hockey Players Are Missing Teeth
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Being in the business of professional hockey, the Washington Capitals — unfortunately — are no strangers to the dentist.
It's where Dylan Strome is headed on the team's off day on Tuesday to address a tooth broken from a high stick on Nov. 30. It's also where he spent the morning of Thanksgiving Day getting a root canal to repair a chipped — and now dead — tooth he suffered from yet another high stick just the night before.
"I feel like they're all going to come out at some point," Strome, who also had stitches inside his cheek to stop internal bleeding, cracked. "... You wake up and forget your teeth were hurting, you accidentally bite down, you don't realize how much your teeth touch other things in your mouth... more annoying than anything."
Such is life for a professional hockey player; Strome's not the first to deal with the nuisance that comes with broken teeth, and he certainly won't be the last.
Teeth are more than a common issue in the Capitals locker room; look no further than captain Alex Ovechkin, who had his front tooth knocked out in a 2007 game against the Atlanta Thrashers.
He doesn't bother to put in his fake tooth, rocking the classic, missing-tooth smile that's matched his personality over the years.
"We're hockey players, we're gonna missing teeth," he grinned in a viral video from last season.
Ultimately, the reality of the situation is that sometimes, not getting the tooth fixed is the easier route.
That was the case for Capitals defenseman Dylan McIlrath. His issues stem back to when he was playing junior hockey and got his tooth chipped in half. He had a post put in with a fake tooth that he wore for a bit, but a few years ago, when he first came to Hershey, that post got knocked out.
"The root canal was done years ago, the gums are a little sore," McIlrath recalled of the injury, adding, "The initial injury and when they removed the whole bone and the tooth, that hurt a lot... probably the worst pain I ever felt."
Since he's still playing, he has a flipper tooth that he puts in for family photos but has to wait until he hangs up the skates to get it fixed.
"Medically, they don't really let you get an implant, just in the case of getting hit again, there's a significant impact," McIlrath pointed out. "... It's easier to just do it when you're done."
Tom Wilson, who's currently dealing with significant facial swelling after taking a Jakob Chychrun shot to the face back on Saturday, has lost a handful of teeth over his career, while also having to get stitches in his mouth.
"(The pain) depends on how hard it was," Wilson said. "If you take a slapshot... you don't know, you don't think. You know that you're bleeding everywhere, and just got to get off the ice as quickly as possible. A lot of the time, you don't really know how much damage there is, but it's not fun."
Chychrun himself is also missing a couple of teeth and said that going to the dentist can be the worst part of the whole gig of hockey.
"I can't stand going to the dentist," Chychrun groaned.
According to Chychrun, it's also one of the more frustrating and painful injuries to deal with, especially when the teeth are chipped, leaving the nerve exposed.
"You pretty much got to go right away to get it fixed, you can't really eat or drink or even breathe in the cold air on the ice. When the nerve's exposed, it's sore. Annoying, but part of the game," he said. "It's one of the most excruciating (pains).
"I remember getting woken up in the middle of the night. I had a little infection after getting some damage from my tooth and it's quite painful and it's just constant. It doesn't really go away, so until you get it fixed, and then even the dental work, when you got to get drilling or something done, that's also the worst. It's definitely up there with one of the things you want to avoid: dental work."
Capitals alumnus Mike Knuble agreed; he was hit high with an Eric Fehr shot, and ultimately, had to get his teeth bonded and get Invisalign to repair some of his chiclets.
While it can be a real pain in the neck — no pun intended — it's all just part of the gig, and as Strome explained, hockey players are just a different breed that will power through it.
"We're competitive... You just want to get back out there, try to finish the game," Strome said. "Unless you're really, really hurt, I think most guys just try to finish the game, especially if it's something that doesn't impose your skating or stickhandling or shooting."
