Sports Guard Athletic accidents can happen in the blink of an eye, even when no one expects a problem. One example that comes to mind is a T-ball game for children. A child up to bat not paying full attention, and gets hit in the mouth with a ball. She may not seem to be hurt, but that could be the result of using a mouthguard. Mouthguards may seem like a pain, but they work really hard to protect your teeth, which is what we want. If you play sports - even weekend sports - or you have a child who plays sports, you need to have a mouthguard for sports. Mouthguards are really smile savers. If you aren't sure what a mouthguard is, or what it's used for, we have some answers for you. Let Zhou Dental Care give you information about sports mouthguards. What Are Mouthguards?Usually, mouthguards for sports are made out of soft, pliable plastic. We tell all of our athlete patients they need to wear a sports mouthguard, because they protect your teeth and gums. This is really important if you happen to take a hit to the face. You may think that athletes only get hit in the face if they are playing a contact sport such as football or basketball. However, if you are working out with a trainer practicing your kickboxing, or you're punching a bag, or even playing a game with your kids, you are at risk for a blow to the face. Mouthguards help mitigate this risk of tooth damage or tooth loss. They spread the energy out from a blow to the face and distribute that energy across all of your teeth, which minimizes the impact. Why Are They Important?Mouthguards are vitally important to wear if you are an athlete. Experts say that ⅓ of all injuries to athletes are in the face or in the mouth. If you think about it, that's a lot of broken teeth. When you break a tooth, we hope that we can fix it, but we can't fix everything. If a tooth can't be fixed, we have no choice but to remove it. Broken bones can be reset and grow back as good as new. Sadly, teeth can't do that. When you damage a tooth beyond repair, we have to remove it, or we have to protect it with a crown. If you don't get a missing tooth replaced, it could eventually affect your whole mouth. Your teeth could shift, and your jaw might even take out slivers of bone to use in other places in your body. This could lead to changes in your jawbone or even your facial structure. How Do I Get A Mouthguard for Sports?It's easy for us to fit you with a mouthguard. You need to come in and see us. We use a gel or paste to make an impression of all of your teeth so we can make a mouthguard - there's no pain involved at all. When your mouthpiece is ready, we'll give you a call so you can drop by for a fitting. We will need to check and make sure your mouthpiece fits correctly. When you're ready to make sure that your mouth is protected from everything sports can throw at it, you need to give Zhou Dental Care a call at 503-282-3884. |
