Mouthguards (Sports)
While sports are good for your health, this isn’t always true when it comes to your oral health. This is something that Cornelius Dental Clinic understands. It’s why we highly recommend that you wear a sports mouthguard (a.k.a. mouth protector).
When You Should Wear A Sports Mouthguard
It’s important to wear a sports mouthguard, so your teeth are protected from being chipped, broken, or knocked out of your mouth while you’re engaged in sports. Above and beyond this though, your sports mouthguard can also protect your face, lips, and tongue. This is done by redistributing the force you take when you receive a blow to your head. It’s important to understand that this won’t prevent a concussion, but it will lessen the severity of the injury.
The reason why mouthguards come so highly recommended is that they’ll cover your teeth, so you don’t accidentally grind them when you’re playing sports. This shouldn’t be a big deal since they’re easy to fit in your mouth. Made of a thermoplastic material you simply boil them in a pot of hot water. Once cooled a bit, you put the mouthguard in your mouth then use your finger and tongue to shape it around your teeth.
How You'll Know You Need A Mouthguard
Now that you understand what a mouthguard’s job is, you can see why many sports make it mandatory for their players to wear them. This includes sports like boxing, hockey, and football. Other sports where it’s recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA) for you to wear a mouthguard include wrestling, baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, acrobatics, skateboarding, gymnastics, skiing, skydiving, surfing, boxing, shot putting, martial arts, racquetball, squash, handball, lacrosse, rugby, or any type of hockey (e.g. field, ice, roller).
Wearing a mouthguard is important because it helps to cushion the blow against your face. Doing so will make it less likely for you to break a tooth. It’ll also lessen the likelihood that you’ll injure your lips, jaw, tongue, or face. All this is done simply by covering your top teeth. From here they’ll soften a blow that could fracture your jaw, but they won’t protect you against concussions.
How To Find The Right Mouthguard
Any mouthguard that you wear for sports should fit snugly against the teeth in the top of your mouth. Make sure it does so without you biting or clenching down to hold it in place. Otherwise, you’ll know that the mouthguard doesn’t fit properly. A properly fitting mouthguard is one that simply stays in place without you thinking about it – something you won’t have time to do while engaging in your favorite sport. Once you’ve found this mouthguard, make sure you clean (brush it like you’d brush your teeth) and store it properly, so it doesn’t wear out too fast – it should last for a year.
You should be wearing a sports mouthguard so make sure you contact Cornelius Dental Clinic at (971) 317-9323, so we can help you find one that fits well and allows you to enjoy the sport you love.