Grin and Bear It: NHL Players Say Losing Teeth Part of Game

In this Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, file photo, Pacific Division defenseman Brent Burns (88), of the San Jose Sharks, talks with a referee during the NHL hockey All-Star championship game in Nashville, Tenn. When Brent Burns packs his bags for road trips, the Sharks defenseman usually leaves some cosmetic teeth behind. “I don’t wear them often,” he said. “I usually find them in a drawer a couple months down the road and put them somewhere safe, forget where that is, and find them a couple months later.” AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File

When Brent Burns packs his bags for road trips, the San Jose Sharks defenseman often leaves something behind: his cosmetic teeth.

“I don’t wear them often,” he said. “I usually find them in a drawer a couple months down the road and put them somewhere safe, forget where that is, and find them a couple months later.”

Burns, a happy-go-lucky guy, said he is missing three of his real teeth and a fourth is “hanging on by a thread.” He is holding out hope it won’t join his other missing Chiclets.

“I need that one for corn on the cob,” Burns said with a gap-filled smile.

Nashville Predators defenseman Conor Allen carries his broken tooth in his hand after a collision during the second period of a preseason NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. AP Photo/Mark Humphrey