Participation in sports is one of the leading causes of all dental injuries. In fact, a recent edition of the Journal of the American Dental Association reported that anywhere from 13% to 39% of all dental injuries occur during sports.
You might think that most of these injuries occur in high-impact sports like football but that isn’t actually the case. Many dental injuries happen during games of soccer, basketball, and baseball. The primary reason is that football organizations often require players wear mouth guards but it isn’t common in other sports.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends children wear mouth guards in most sports. Your child may not want to, though, for a number of reasons.
Common Reasons Athletes Don’t Wear Mouth Guards
- They think the mouth guard will affect their breathing.
- They think mouth guards will be uncomfortable and distracting.
- They don’t mouth guards will effectively protect their teeth
For any of these excuses, you can tell your child that studies have shown all of them to be false with the possible exception of the second; many people first experience the cheap, store-bought mouth guards that aren’t custom fit for their mouths and are therefore often uncomfortable to wear.
The best kind of mouth guard will often be the most comfortable because the better the fit, the better the protection it provides. Consider your options:
Pre-made – These mouth guards may come in a variety of sizes but, since everyone’s teeth are slightly different, they are almost never a perfect fit. They are sometimes the least expensive, though, which is really their only advantage over the other kinds of mouth guards.
Boil & Bite – As the name suggests, this variety of mouth guard is softened by boiling and then put into the mouth to harden into shape. While better than pre-made mouth guards, the fit is rarely perfect either because of the difficulty in getting them to shape correctly. Despite this, they are actually the most popular kind of mouth guards.
Custom – This is the only option that provides a perfect fit and therefore the best protection against damage and tooth loss. They are also more comfortable than other options so athletes are more likely to wear them.
The custom mouth guards that Mile High Smiles creates are undoubtedly your best option in terms of both comfort and safety.
Custom Mouth Guard Process
We strive to make the process as easy as possible.
- In your first visit at Mile High Smiles, we’ll make a mold of your child’s teeth with a putty-like material.
- This is then sent out to the lab that builds the actual mouth guard.
- Once it comes in a few weeks after the first appointment, we’ll have you back in to the office so we can test the fit.
If you have any questions about custom mouth guards, please contact us.
