Watch your jaw, a note to soccer players

The good oral surgeons at Ataturk University in Erzurum, Turkey, have released a report the says amateur soccer players run a much higher risk of facial or jaw injuries. The reason, they don't use mouth guards and faceguards.

"Mouthguards and faceguards could prevent many soccer-related mouth and facial injuries, but few soccer players use these protective devices, the researchers noted. Amateur soccer coaches and officials must do more to increase players' use of this kind of safety gear, and manufacturers need to improve the fit and comfort of the devices, the authors said."

By the way, 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."

The survey noted that they had no information on eye or noose injuries as those players would not see oral surgeons.

No word on if they tried to contact Jimmy Conrad or Clint Dempsey for this story.