On Sunday evening at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, 24-year-old Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils delivered one of the most iconic moments in American sports history. With a bloodied mouth and a gap-toothed grin, Hughes scored 1:41 into overtime to give the United States a 2–1 victory over Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics — the nation’s first Olympic gold in men’s hockey since the legendary 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”

But for dental professionals watching at home, there was a second storyline unfolding on the ice. In the third period, Canadian forward Sam Bennett’s stick caught Hughes squarely in the mouth, avulsing multiple teeth. Hughes looked down at the ice, spotted his teeth lying on the frozen surface, and — remarkably — kept playing.

Hughes later told reporters he’d been through it before. He had already lost a tooth in a prior NHL game and took the moment in stride, rolling his eyes and getting back on the ice. Minutes later, he fielded a cross-ice pass from Zach Werenski in overtime and slid the puck through the five-hole of Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington to seal the victory.

His teammates were unfazed. Matt Boldy, who scored the other American goal, summed it up perfectly in a postgame interview: more people were looking at Hughes’ gold medal than his teeth.

Hughes’ golden goal was made even more special by the presence of his older brother Quinn Hughes, 26, a defenseman on the same U.S. roster. Quinn had earlier scored the overtime winner against Sweden in the quarterfinals and led the American team with eight points in the tournament. Their mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, serves as a Player Development Consultant for the U.S. women’s hockey team, which also captured gold in Milan. Three family members, two gold medals, and one unforgettable Olympic moment.

Connor Hellebuyck anchored the victory with 41 saves and was named Best Goalkeeper of the tournament, turning aside waves of Canadian pressure — including a breakaway from Connor McDavid and a third-period onslaught of 19 shots.

Now that the champagne has been sprayed and the medals have been hung, Hughes faces a reality familiar to dentists everywhere: restoring avulsed teeth. Reports indicate that Hughes will likely undergo dental implant placement — the gold standard for replacing teeth lost to trauma. The procedure involves surgically placing titanium posts into the jawbone to serve as artificial roots, followed by the placement of custom-fabricated crowns matched to Hughes’ natural dentition in shade, shape, and contour.

For younger dental professionals, Hughes’ case is a textbook example of the clinical decision-making involved in sports-related dental trauma. The treatment timeline for implant placement following avulsion depends on several factors including the condition of the alveolar bone, the extent of soft tissue damage, and whether additional grafting is needed. In many traumatic avulsion cases, early or delayed implant placement (Type 2 or 3) is preferred, allowing for soft tissue healing and partial bone fill before surgical intervention.

The image of a hockey player grinning through missing teeth is practically synonymous with the sport. And the numbers support the stereotype. Research published in the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association found that 31.4% of surveyed ice hockey players reported sustaining an oral injury during their career, with sticks being the leading cause of trauma — responsible for 57.7% of injuries. Among NHL professionals specifically, some estimates suggest that as many as 68–85% of players will lose at least one tooth during their career.

The broader sports injury picture is equally sobering. More than five million teeth are avulsed annually in the United States from sports-related injuries, generating an estimated $500 million in treatment costs. The lifetime cost of treating a single avulsed tooth ranges from $5,000 to $20,000 depending on the restorative approach and follow-up care required.

Ice hockey presents a uniquely high-risk environment: players skating at speeds up to 30 miles per hour, pucks traveling over 100 miles per hour, and the ever-present risk of sticks, elbows, and collisions. Dental injuries account for an estimated 11.5–16% of all hockey-related injuries, with the maxillary incisors being the most commonly affected teeth.

Jack Hughes’ viral moment is more than a feel-good sports story. For the dental profession, it’s a high-visibility reminder that dental trauma remains a pervasive and costly public health issue.