We Will Protect This Mouth!

Hello! We hope everyone is enjoying their summer! It seems like the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victory was ages ago, but while they’re busy resting their sore legs, we can’t help but think of their poor teeth. Some of them have a few teeth left; not too many. When the TV cameras show the players sitting on the bench, what do you notice? Most of them have something hanging out of their mouth and sometimes they chew on them. They should not be chewing on them, but thank goodness they are wearing them! Thank goodness for mouthguards!

During high impact games like hockey or football, most of the players wear a mouthguard to protect their teeth from injury. Some hockey players wear a mouthguard and facemask, but sometimes one or the other. Injuries can happen in basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. Dental injuries are common in any sport and can be very painful, making the player miss out on games. According to an article posted on a website called Dentistry Today, “Each athlete involved in a contact sport has about a 10% chance per season of an orofacial injury, or a 35% to 56% chance during his or her athletic career. Approximately one third of all dental injuries are sports related”.  We can prevent these injuries by wearing a custom made mouthguard.

Mouthguards are very beneficial for active individuals of all ages. It is very important to protect baby teeth and permanent adult teeth. When a baby tooth is injured, it can affect the development of the adult tooth or it can turn the tooth dark due to nerve trauma. A permanent adult tooth can go through the same situation. It can be chipped (which would require restorative treatment), or be as serious as a traumatic abscess due to nerve damage (resulting in a root canal, crown, or extraction based off severity). No one wants a dark front tooth and no one should feel scared to smile or talk because of an injured tooth. Mouthguards also protect your soft tissues (tongue, cheeks, lips) and jaw from trauma. It acts like a cushion, it is a shock absorber. A custom made mouthguard will definitely do the job to prevent these situations from happening. Here at Living Well Dental Group, we can make a custom one for you.

Many stores sell “boil and bite” mouthguards (a thermoplastic material) that require you to heat up and bite into. The problem with store bought guards is that they might not be done properly and it does not give enough cushion or retention to all the teeth. The best way to protect your teeth is to have a dental professional and a dental lab fabricate a custom-made mouthguard. We would take impressions (molds) of your teeth, send it to a lab that will make it out of ethyl vinyl acetate copolymer (a flexible material, yet like a tough rubber), they will send it back and we will seat it in your mouth to make sure it fits correctly.

And with football season rapidly approaching, remember: Protect your teeth! From lacrosse to gymnastics, dental trauma can happen easily and will keep you on the sidelines.