When should you wear a sports mouth Guard?
Although dental injuries are commonly associated generally with contact sports, such as football, rugby, hockey, and boxing, other dental and mouth injuries may also occur as a result of accidental contact with people or objects during other athletic activities, including skateboarding, basketball, soccer, squash, gymnastics, and Taekwon-Do. In essence, you need to be aware that all sports activities contain some element of risk that could result in a dental injury.
At Cochrane Dental Centre, we recommend that anyone who participates in athletic activities should protect their teeth with high quality, proper fitting sports mouth guard.
A properly fitted sports mouth guard absorbs the shock of impacts. The mouth guard also protects teeth against potential chips, cracks, fractures, knock-out, and damage. A properly fitted sports mouth guard is an important equipment investment, especially when considering the cost of the potential dental work required to repair damaged teeth.
For people who have to wear braces or other fixed orthodontic appliances, it is especially important to have a sports mouthguard that fits them properly. An impact to the mouth can damage the brackets and wires of the braces and can also cause added cuts and tears to the soft tissue inside your mouth.
How do sports mouth guards protect against dental injury?
Sports mouth guards are dental appliances that fit over your teeth while you’re engaged in your sporting activity. If you are then struck in the mouth or jaw, the sports mouth guard helps to redistribute the force of that impact. A mouth guard also provides a barrier between your teeth and the soft tissue in and around your mouth. Many studies have shown that mouth guards help prevent chipped or broken teeth and protect against cuts to lips, gums, and other soft tissue in the mouth area.
