The Importance of Wearing Mouth and Sports Guards to Protect your Teeth
As we all know, participating in sporting activities can be physically hazardous with many associated risks of injury. However, injuries sustained to the mouth, teeth and gums can be greatly reduced by the use of an effective mouth guard.
Gum shields and mouth guards act to shield your teeth and gums from impact injuries and can help to prevent injuries entirely in some cases, or can help to greatly reduce the amount of damage sustained from a sporting accident.
Accidental injuries to the mouth can happen to both adults and children that participate in sports. Even the simplest slip or fall can result in chipped, broken or loosened teeth – you don’t necessarily have to suffer from a severe contact injury to sustain damage, such as from being struck by a ball or an elbow to your mouth during a Rugby scrum etc.
Talk to your dentist about using a mouth & sports guard
Whether you are concerned about protecting your own teeth and gums, or those of a family member, it would be wise to consult with your dentist about your need for wearing an effective mouth or sports guard.
This step could be particularly useful to take on behalf of your children before they take part in any sort of contact sport. Remember that children’s teeth are still developing and growing, so protecting their teeth and gums from severe injuries from an early age is crucial if you want them to grow up without developing any dental issues.
By talking to your dentist, you will be able to get sound advice and recommendations for the best mouth guard options that will not only fit perfectly but will be suitable for your needs. Not all mouthguards are the same – there is no one-size-fits-all solution here, so your dentist will be able to recommend the best type according to your level of risk.
Don’t take any shortcuts!
When it comes to buying mouth guards for your children especially, don’t be tempted by cheap, generic mouth guards that you can buy from sports shops. It can seem easy to pick up a low-priced mouth guard while you are in the sports shop kitting out your child with the necessary clothing needed for their sport, but the protection offered by these inexpensive options is quite low and the poor fit means the guards can move around the mouth easily, reducing the protection against jaw and teeth damage and can even pose as a choking risk!
A well-fitting and suitable mouth guard can help protect you from more than just one-off impact injuries. You also have to consider the protection offered through:
- Avoiding long term treatment costs for sports-related mouth injuries
- Avoiding biting through the tongue, cheek and other soft tissues of the mouth
- Avoiding fracture or breaking of the jaw bone
- Preventing psychological trauma from mouth injuries
- Protection from broken, knocked-out, loosened or chipped teeth
- Reducing the potential for sustaining a concussion
This is why it is very important to safeguard your teeth, jaw, gums and the soft tissues of your mouth by consulting with your dentist to get the very best mouth guard possible for your needs.
Book your appointment online
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Book your appointment online
See our clinician availability and book a slot that works best around your schedule. Only Private appointments are bookable.