Sports Guards
Helmets, knee pads, shin guards… if you’re an avid athlete or the parent of one, you know the importance of proper protective gear. But did you know that up to 40 percent of all sports injuries involve the face? Protect your smile and your mouth with a comfortable, custom-molded mouthguard to dramatically reduce the risk of sports-related injuries to the mouth.
This comfortable piece of athletic gear fits over your teeth and helps protect your smile as well as your lips, tongue, face, and jaw. While hockey, boxing, and rugby players would obviously benefit from mouthguards, others, like bicyclists, weightlifters, and gymnasts, made the American Dental Association‘s list of athletes who need mouthguards. This may sound excessive, but studies show that 13 to 39 percent of all dental injuries are sports related. Because the face is an important part of a person’s image, self confidence, and sometimes success, it’s better to be safe than…toothless!
Before facemasks and mouthguards were required in football, half of all players’ injuries occurred in the mouth. During the playing season, players had a one in ten chance of mouth injury. Once high schools and colleges began requiring facemasks and mouthguards, the number of injuries reported dropped by 200,000 per year. Naturally, dentists and the ADA recommend mouthguards for adults and children in any recreational activity that poses the risk of injury to your mouth.
Custom-made mouthguards are the best solution. Unlike the substandard ready-made mouth guards you can pick up at your local supermarket, these mouthguards fit securely over your teeth without the huge bulk which can make speaking and even breathing difficult. They have no funny odor or taste and do not lose their flexibility over time.
Our mouthguards are comfortable, practical, and protective. We have the ability to even fabricate special mouthguards for patients with braces, removable bridges or dentures, a protruding jaw, or a cleft palate. Why take a chance at ruining one of the most visible parts of your body? Get a mouthguard and safeguard you or your child’s smile.
If you have questions about mouthguards, call our office. We’ll be happy to help you decide which type of mouthguard is best for you.