Protect Your Athlete with a Mouth Guard
If your kids are involved with sports, either through school or local
leagues, you should consider purchasing a mouth guard. These plastic appliances
protect their mouths, teeth, lips, and gums from injury.
Conservative estimates suggest that 13 to 19 percent of all dental injuries involve sports. Wearing a mouth guard can lessen the severity of any trauma sustained. Generally, dentists and orthodontists recommend mouth guards for any potential contact activities such as soccer, football, basketball, and even skateboarding or horseback riding. Usually, mouth guards cover the upper teeth.
Pre-formed and ready to wear, stock mouth guards can be purchased at sporting goods stores or other retailers. While inexpensive, you cannot alter their fit, so these mouth guards provide little or no protection. Talking and breathing can also be difficult.
Boil and bite mouth guards
Offering more coverage than stock mouth guards, boil and bite appliances are constructed from thermoplastic material. You place the device in hot water to soften it and shape it around the teeth for a better fit.
Custom mouth guards
Individually designed, custom mouth guards are more expensive than the other options, but they offer the best coverage, protection and comfort. For a custom appliance, your dentist will take an impression of your teeth and send it to a dental lab, where skilled technicians will generate your personal mouth guard. These custom professional mouth guards fit better, are more retentive, stable and provide the greatest protection against sports injuries.
If you have any questions regarding mouth guards, dental hygiene or oral
health, contact us.
Conservative estimates suggest that 13 to 19 percent of all dental injuries involve sports. Wearing a mouth guard can lessen the severity of any trauma sustained. Generally, dentists and orthodontists recommend mouth guards for any potential contact activities such as soccer, football, basketball, and even skateboarding or horseback riding. Usually, mouth guards cover the upper teeth.
Several types of mouth guards are available:
Stock mouth guardsPre-formed and ready to wear, stock mouth guards can be purchased at sporting goods stores or other retailers. While inexpensive, you cannot alter their fit, so these mouth guards provide little or no protection. Talking and breathing can also be difficult.
Boil and bite mouth guards
Offering more coverage than stock mouth guards, boil and bite appliances are constructed from thermoplastic material. You place the device in hot water to soften it and shape it around the teeth for a better fit.
Custom mouth guards
Individually designed, custom mouth guards are more expensive than the other options, but they offer the best coverage, protection and comfort. For a custom appliance, your dentist will take an impression of your teeth and send it to a dental lab, where skilled technicians will generate your personal mouth guard. These custom professional mouth guards fit better, are more retentive, stable and provide the greatest protection against sports injuries.
