What is a Sports Mouthguard?

 

A sports mouthguard is a removable dental appliance.

It fits over your upper teeth and gums to reduce and protect you from sports-related injuries, such as getting a tooth knocked out or fractured, and also helps prevent lacerations to your mouth and gums.

 

Q: How do sports mouthguards protect your teeth?

 

Not only do they protect your teeth, they protect your jaws too. Here’s how:

 

For example, if you experience a direct blow to the jaw or to the teeth, a sports mouthguard acts as a shock absorber. This amazing mouthguard will distribute and absorb the force.

 

According to a study in 2007, the overall injury risk was found to be 1.5 to 2 times greater when a sports mouthguard was not worn during athletic activity.

Sports mouthguards are mandatory in Canada for most hockey league players, football, rugby, karate, taekwondo, lacrosse, and boxing athletes.

 

Q: How do injuries from non-contact sports occur?

 

Even in sports that are non-contact, injuries to your teeth and gums can still happen!

Sports mouthguards prevent the loss or fracture of teeth in sports that are non-contact, such as weightlifting, or baseball, where the equipment used can come into contact with a player’s mouth.

 

The sports mouthguard can also protect top and bottom teeth from severe clenching, which may cause injuries like fractures, or result in excessive wear on your teeth.

 

Q: Is hockey more dangerous than other sports?

 

Hockey pucks are a 6 oz. (170 gram) piece of solid rubber which can hit a hockey player’s mouth at speeds up to 193 kilometres per hour. So, if you’re playing hockey, please, be safe! Use a sports mouthguard every time you play.

 

Q: Are there any other benefits to wearing a Sports mouthguard?

 

Sports injuries can result in oral or facial disfigurement– with a range of effects to follow, including self consciousness, embarrassment, and conditions that affect an individual’s ability to eat or to speak.

 

Q: What is the cost benefit of wearing sports mouthguards?

 

Good question! The sports mouthguard protects and prevents injuries that would otherwise cost between a whopping 22 to 25 million dollars every year.

 

Q: Are there different types of sports mouthguards?

 

Yes- there are 4 types of sports mouthguards!

 

 

• Stock sports mouthguards- “One Size Fits All”

 

 

• Stock Sports mouthguards are commercially available in stores.
• Because they are not customized to fit your mouth, they can often be uncomfortable to wear! They restrict breathing and speech.
• In addition, the wearer has to clench down their teeth on it to keep it in place.
• This is the most economical sports mouthguard, but it also offers the least protection.

 

2) Mouth-formed sports mouthguards- “Boil and Bite”

 

• These ones are warmed in boiling water, then the user bites into it, making it mould to fit their teeth.
• Most have a removable strap to attach to a helmet.
• They are less bulky than the stock type, and fit slightly better.
• However, they usually have a loose fit, and still require the wearer to clench their teeth together to hold the sports mouthguard in place.
• These are also inexpensive, and offer a lower level of protection as compared to custom made sports mouthguard.

 

3) Custom fabricated sports mouthguards

• These are created by using a mould of the teeth that is taken by a dentist or a dental hygienist.
• It will fit the athlete’s mouth exactly!
• Because it’s perfectly customized, it is very comfortable
• It allows the athlete to speak and breath properly and does not require the wearer to clench to keep it in place.
• Although it is more expensive than the other options we listed, it provides much better protection  when compared to the previous examples.

 

4) Pressure Laminated

 

• These are made the same way as the custom fabricated ones, but layers of protection are fused together, done in a dental laboratory.
• This type of sports mouthguard is the most expensive, but worth every cent as it provides the highest level of protection.

At Bronte Road Family Dental, we offer 2 types of mouthguards to help minimize injuries to your teeth. We also offer comprehensive family dental care in Oakville.