Soccer Players at Risk for Mouth, Face Injuries

Amateur soccer players suffer a surprisingly high number of face and mouth injuries, a new report finds.

Oral surgeons at Ataturk University in Erzurum, Turkey, reviewed 53 cases of mouth, jaw, and facial injuries they treated over the course of a year.

Of those 53 cases, 11 (20 percent) involved amateur soccer players.

The most common soccer-related injuries were dental fractures, followed by fractures of the lower jaw, and problems with the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which moves the jaws. One player had a broken nose.