Brock Lesnar’s Teeth: What His Smile Teaches You About Dental Trauma and Sports Injuries

Brock Lesnar’s teeth have attracted a lot of online attention over the years — and the curiosity is understandable. His smile shows signs of significant dental wear and trauma that are genuinely common in contact sports, combat sports, and high-impact athletic careers. What makes his case interesting from a dental perspective isn’t gossip; it’s what it illustrates about how hard athletes can be on their teeth, and what modern dentistry can actually do about it.

What Do Brock Lesnar’s Teeth Actually Look Like?

If you’ve seen photos of Brock Lesnar — the former WWE champion, UFC Heavyweight Champion, and NCAA Division I wrestling champion — you’ve probably noticed that his smile looks rough. His front teeth appear visibly chipped, uneven, and darkened in places. Some teeth look significantly shorter than average from what appears to be heavy grinding and wear.

It’s worth being clear about what we know and what we don’t. We’re not Brock Lesnar’s dental team, and we would never speculate about his specific diagnoses or treatment history. What we can say is that his teeth display characteristics that dentists see regularly in patients with histories of physical trauma and high-impact athletic careers: chipped enamel, uneven wear patterns, and discoloration that can follow injury or repeated impact.

None of that is a judgment. It’s actually a window into something that affects millions of athletes at every level, from the WWE’s biggest name to your kid playing youth football in South San Francisco.

Why Are Athletes So Prone to Dental Injuries?

The mouth is in a vulnerable spot. During any collision, fall, or blow to the head or face, the teeth, jaw, and surrounding soft tissue take on a significant amount of force. The American Dental Association estimates that athletes who don’t wear mouthguards are 60 times more likely to suffer dental injury than those who do.

The most common sports-related dental injuries include:

• Chipped or fractured teeth — a direct blow cracks the enamel or breaks off part of a tooth.
• Avulsed teeth — a tooth is knocked completely out. This is a dental emergency.
• Luxated teeth — a tooth is loosened or pushed out of position without being knocked out entirely.
• Tooth intrusion — a tooth is driven up into the jawbone, more common in children whose bone is less dense.
• Root fractures — the root cracks below the gumline, often invisible on the surface but painful and serious.
• Jaw fractures — the jawbone itself breaks, requiring medical and dental intervention together.

Combat sports (wrestling, MMA, boxing, BJJ) and contact team sports (football, basketball, hockey, rugby, lacrosse) carry the highest risk. But dental injuries also happen in baseball, soccer, and even cycling, where falls are common.

What Happens to Teeth Over a Long Athletic Career?

Brock Lesnar competed at elite levels for well over a decade across multiple physically demanding sports. Even with protective gear, the cumulative effect of years of contact can be significant. Here’s what tends to happen over a long career:

Repeated micro-trauma adds up. Not every hit produces a dramatic cracked tooth. Many produce tiny chips or stress fractures that weaken enamel over time. That cumulative damage eventually becomes visible — and symptomatic.

Bruxism (teeth grinding) often accompanies high-stress athletic careers. Grinding and clenching, especially at night, accelerates wear on already-stressed enamel. Many athletes grind without knowing it.

Old trauma can show up late. A tooth that was hit hard years ago may slowly darken (a sign the nerve has died) or develop an abscess long after the initial event. This is one reason our dental team always asks new patients about past dental injuries — even ones that “seemed fine at the time.”

What Are the Treatment Options for Sports-Related Dental Damage?

The good news: most sports-related dental damage is very treatable, especially when it’s caught early. The right treatment depends on what type of damage you’re dealing with.

Minor chips and cracks: cosmetic dental bonding can restore chipped or slightly cracked teeth with tooth-colored composite resin. It’s often done in one visit and doesn’t require removing healthy tooth structure.

More significant damage: A tooth that’s badly cracked, heavily worn, or structurally compromised often needs a dental crown. A crown caps the damaged tooth and restores its full shape, strength, and function. At our office, we use CEREC CAD/CAM technology to mill ceramic crowns right here in our South San Francisco office — so in many cases, you get a permanent, custom-fit crown in a single visit, with no temporary and no second appointment.

Knocked-out teeth: A tooth that’s knocked out completely (avulsed) is a dental emergency. If handled correctly in the first 30 to 60 minutes, it may be possible to reimplant it. If reimplantation isn’t an option — or if the tooth is lost — dental implants are now the gold standard for replacing a missing tooth permanently, with results that look and function like a natural tooth.

Dead or infected teeth: A tooth that’s darkened following trauma often has a dead or dying nerve. A root canal removes the damaged nerve tissue and seals the tooth so it can be saved rather than extracted.

Worn enamel: Significant enamel loss from grinding or repeated impact may be addressed with composite or porcelain restorations, veneers, or crowns depending on severity.

Why Do So Many Athletes Wait Too Long?

This is a real pattern our team sees. Athletes — from weekend warriors to professionals — tend to push through discomfort. A chipped tooth that “doesn’t hurt much” gets put off. A slightly loose tooth gets ignored. By the time something is painful enough to force a visit, the damage is often more extensive (and more expensive to fix) than it would have been earlier.

There’s also a visibility problem. Some of the most serious dental trauma happens below the gumline or inside a tooth, where you can’t see it. A tooth can look fine and still have a fractured root, a dying nerve, or a slowly growing infection. That’s one reason regular dental exams matter so much for athletes: catching these issues early, when they’re still straightforward to treat, saves a lot of time, cost, and discomfort.

What’s the Best Way to Protect Your Teeth During Sports?

The short answer: a properly fitted custom mouthguard.

Over-the-counter boil-and-bite guards offer some protection, but custom guards made from a dental impression fit better, stay in place more reliably, and provide a more consistent level of cushioning. The ADA recommends mouthguards for any sport involving contact, collision, or the risk of falling — that list is longer than most people think.

At Vaksman Dental Group, our team can take impressions and have a custom sports guard made for you or your child. It’s one of the simplest, most cost-effective investments any athlete can make.

Beyond mouthguards, a few other prevention basics:

• Wear a helmet or face shield when the sport calls for one — they reduce head and jaw impact significantly.
• Know what to do if a tooth is knocked out (rinse gently, keep it moist in milk or saliva, call the dentist immediately — don’t put it in water or dry it out).
• Schedule a pre-season dental check. Our team can identify any existing weak spots — cracked enamel, worn teeth, previous trauma — before the season starts.
• Tell your dentist about past dental injuries, even ones that seemed minor or resolved on their own.

What Does This Have to Do With South San Francisco?

Plenty. South San Francisco and the surrounding Peninsula have active youth sports leagues, adult recreational leagues, and a strong community of athletes at every level. El Camino High School, South San Francisco High, and the many club sports programs in the area mean there are a lot of young athletes whose dental health is worth paying attention to before, during, and after the season.

Our office at 1241 Mission Road in South San Francisco sees patients from across the Peninsula — San Bruno, Daly City, Brisbane, Millbrae, Burlingame, and beyond. If you or your athlete has a dental concern from a sports injury, or you’d like a custom mouthguard made before the season picks up, we’re easy to reach and happy to help.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do immediately if I knock out a tooth during a game?

Pick up the tooth by the crown (the white part), not the root. Rinse it gently with water — don’t scrub it. If you can, place it back in the socket and hold it there. If that’s not possible, store it in a small cup of milk or between your cheek and gum to keep it moist. Call a dentist or go to an emergency dental office immediately. Time matters: the best outcomes happen when the tooth is reimplanted within 30 to 60 minutes of being knocked out.

Are custom mouthguards really worth the extra cost over store-bought ones?

Generally, yes. Custom mouthguards fit precisely over your teeth and stay in place without you having to clench down on them — which means they’re more comfortable, easier to breathe and speak through, and more likely to actually be worn. Boil-and-bite guards are better than nothing, but a custom guard provides more consistent protection and typically lasts longer with proper care.

Can a chipped or cracked tooth from an old sports injury still cause problems years later?

Yes, and this is more common than people realize. A tooth that was hit hard even years ago may have internal damage that wasn’t visible at the time. Nerve damage can lead to slow darkening of the tooth, and hairline fractures can gradually worsen or allow bacteria to enter. If you have a tooth that’s changed color, developed sensitivity, or started aching years after an injury, it’s worth getting it checked — the treatment is almost always simpler when caught earlier.

Which sports have the highest risk of dental injury?

Contact and collision sports carry the greatest risk: football, ice hockey, wrestling, boxing, MMA, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and rugby are consistently at the top. Baseball and softball (from pitches and batted balls) and cycling (from falls) also make the list. According to the ADA, more than 200,000 oral injuries are prevented each year by mouthguards — which speaks both to how common the risk is, and how effective prevention can be.

Written by the Vaksman Dental Group team and medically reviewed by Dr. Irena Vaksman, DDS — South San Francisco. Last reviewed September 2026.