ATHLETIC MOUTH GUARDS

 What is the number one piece of sports equipment that every athlete should have?  If you guessed an athletic mouth guard, you are correct!

  A custom -fitted mouth guard should be a part of EVERY athlete’s sports gear. Mouth guards are not just for football, hockey, and soccer players.

	In fact, mouth injuries from baseball and basketball account for almost half of all sports related mouth injuries.  Any athlete, who is involved in a sport that could lead to a fall or risks head contact with other players, should have a mouth guard. This includes gymnasts, rollerbladers, skateboarders, martial artists, and wrestlers.
Take a look at the list of sporting activities below, if you or your child participates in the flowing sports, the American Dental Association (ADA) and the Academy of Sports Dentistry recommend that a mouth guard be used to prevent mouth injury.
Volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, football, rugby, lacrosse, racquetball, in-line skating, skateboarding, martial arts, boxing, acrobatics, badminton, cycling, discus, equestrian sports, field hockey, ice hockey, handball, lacrosse, gymnastics, motor cross, skiing, shot-put, skydiving, squash, surfing, trampoline, tennis, wrestling, weightlifting, water polo

What is an athletic mouth guard?
Athletic mouth guards are made of a soft, pliable rubber. They are custom fitted in the mouth or on a plaster model to cover the upper teeth.

Advantages of mouth guards

 Besides protecting your teeth, mouth guards help prevent the tongue, lips and cheeks from being gashed by the sharp edges of your top (maxillary) teeth.

Mouth guards help protect the athlete from concussions and jaw fractures. They do not allow much movement in the jaw joint and the guards actually absorb the energy from a traumatic blow to the chin so not as much force is radiated to the base of the skull.

When athletes do not have to worry about a mouth injury, their confidence is improved and they can concentrate more on their performance.

How do I know what type of guard to get?

There are many different types of mouth guards.

The least expensive and least effective are preformed guards and that are usually not very comfortable. The next type is a “boil-and-bite” mouth guard, which is able to be reformed several times to get a more comfortable fit.  Both types can be found in sports stores or in the sporting goods department.

The best type of guard is a custom- made mouth guard. They offer the best fit, and are the most comfortable to wear. The more comfortable the mouth guard is, the more likely your athlete is to wear it. There are two types of custom- fitted mouth guards.

The first type of custom- fitted guard is made of a thick, pliable rubber material that is prepared in the dentist’s office. The dentist takes an impression of the patient’s teeth, to make a plaster mold, which the plastic is then placed over. The finished product is ready for pick up in about a week. These are reasonably priced, and they come in different colors so that you can easily find them if they fall out of your mouth while on the playing field.