The Importance of Mouth Guards

Mouth guards are more than just a protective piece of equipment to be worn during contact sports such as football or hockey. While it is important for participants to wear mouth guards during these sports, most other athletic activities, such as basketball, baseball, softball and lacrosse all should require participants to wear a mouth guard as well. While some players might not like the feeling of wearing a mouth guard, this small piece of equipment can be the difference between a perfect smile and a fractured tooth. It is impossible to know what might happen during a sporting event. Elbows are often flying, balls are flung past the face at unthinkable speeds, and all of this goes on while the player generally is running to a position or looking right at the individual throwing the ball. Although most people would rather not have a sport guard (also called a mouth guard)in, this material is designed to protect the teeth and help absorb the shock of sudden impact. A sport guard essentially absorbs the majority of the force that occurs when a ball or other object strikes the face. While some sport guards come with built-in shock absorbers in case the individual wearing the guard suddenly has to bite down, it is this absorption of impact that can save a wearer's teeth. Most people think of chipped teeth or even completely missing teeth as the most common injuries to the mouth. However, sudden impact to the nerve endings in a tooth can completely kill it. When this happens, the person needs to have a root canal in order to remove the dead nerve endings and have the tooth filled with a material to keep it from turning black. This is a costly procedure, especially considering it can be avoided with a single sport guard. In addition to preventing possible dental injuries, custom mouth guards may help reduce risk of concussion. According to a study by Medical Xpress, high school football players wearing custom sport guards were two times less likely to suffer concussion. Not all sport guards are created equal. At Great Lakes Dental Arts, we make custom molded mouth guards using the same technology as that used by many professional sports teams. Using our Drufomat machine, we can make a mouth guard with the color and design of your choice in just a few days. Our sport guards are identical to the ones worn by many professional athletes. When you or your children wear a custom mouth guard by Great Lakes Dental Arts, you can be sure that you have the best quality protection possible. Contact our office today to set up an appointment to get your custom sport guard.