When playing a high-contact sport like hockey, football, or volleyball, you wear a helmet to protect your head and padding to protect your joints and other body parts. But what to do to protect your teeth? Wear a sports mouthguard!
What is a Sports Mouthguard?
Think of a sports mouthguard as a soft cushion that protects your teeth. The mouthguard sits snuggly over the upper teeth. The lower teeth are usually not protected with a mouth guard unless you have braces or are engaging in an extremely high-contact sport such as boxing or wrestling where you have a higher risk of experiencing an injury to the lower jaw/mouth.
While participating in your chosen sport, if you should experience a fall, injury, or come into contact with equipment or another player, the mouth guard will absorb most of the impact which prevents you from experiencing an oral injury.
Some of the oral injuries that a sports mouthguard can protect you against include:
- Cut lips
- Broken teeth
- Jaw fractures
- Displace or loosen teeth
- Broken dental fillings or other dental appliances
Do Sports Mouth Guards Really Work?
It is important to understand that just like any piece of protective sports equipment, mouthguards do not make you invincible. You can still get injured. However, if you are wearing a mouthguard while playing a high-contact sport, you dramatically reduce your risk of experiencing an extremely painful oral injury that requires emergency dental care.
Choosing the Right Mouth Guard is Important to Preventing Injury
Not all mouthguards are created equal. Some provide more protection than others. The type of mouthguard you need will depend upon the type of sport you are playing, your oral health, and how often you participate in your sport.
It is important that when choosing a mouth guard, you pick one that has the following qualities:
- Comfortable
- Snug fit that doesn’t restrict breathing or speech
- Made out of material that is resilient and tear-resistant
Want the Best Protection? Get a Custom-Made Mouth Guard
It might be tempting to purchase a mouthguard from your local store, but if you want the best protection, you will want to get a custom-made mouthguard from your dentist.
Custom-made mouthguards are more expensive, but they provide the best protection because they are made specifically for you. This means that the mouth guard will have the proper fit so that all of your teeth are protected from injury.
If you are unable to afford a custom-made mouthguard, you should purchase a stock mouthguard or a boil-and-bite mouthguard from a local store. These types of mouthguards won’t provide as much protection as a custom-made mouthguard, but they will still help protect you against a number of oral injuries.
Mouthguards are just as important as a helmet or pads. Finding the right one will help you to protect your teeth while you enjoy participating in your favorite sport. An experienced dentist can help you find a mouth guard that not only fits your budget, but that provides you with the right amount of protection.
Find your local Ideal Dental office today to schedule a visit with our trusted dentists and discuss mouthguards.