German luger breaks tooth biting on silver medal

Either way you look at it, chipping a tooth isn't cosmetically ideal. But in David Moeller's case, it's a little embarrassing.

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According to AFP via Berlin's mass publication Bild, the 28-year-old luger paid a visit to the dentist after breaking his front tooth biting into his silver Olympic prize. "The photographers wanted us to bite into our medals at the presentation ceremony. And a corner of my front tooth broke off," Moeller said bashfully.

It's custom for athletes to pose with their medal hardware in this manner. And for Moeller, he was happy to oblige in such traditions. However, the consequences that followed weren't exactly something the rest of the world had to know about. Right? Regardless, Moeller was a good sport about the situation. He says he's done this before, but he was at home at the time.

"But it is annoying when you can't smile as you normally do. And because I want to have nice pictures and happy memories of my Olympic Games, I went to the dentist to get it repaired," he said.

On Sunday, the two-time world champion raced to a 3:13.765 finish, finally besting Italian luge star Armin Zoeggeler for his first ever-Olympic medal. Compatriot Felix Loch also locked in Germany's first gold of the 2010 Winter Games on Day 3.

A bit of trivia: Moeller's mom, Ilona, is a dentist. She makes his mouthguards for competition. Wonder what she thinks about her son's recent blunder.

- MacKenzie Wilson