With much waited footy season about to start, I’m often asked about different mouthguards.
If you or your kids play any contact sports, it is important to wear a custom-made, well-fitting mouthguard to protect your teeth from any serious dental injuries. It should be worn whilst playing any sports and activities, where contact to the face is likely. This is not just limited to sports such as footy, rugby, soccer, boxing and netball, but also applies to activities such as skateboarding.
High impact knock to the face can result in broken jaws, cut lips, fractured teeth and knocked-out teeth. Often, such dental injuries at young age leads to lifelong, lengthy and expensive dental treatment. A custom-fitted mouthguard can absorb and spread the impact of the hard blow to your face, protecting your jaw and teeth.
Types of mouthguard
They are many different types of mouthguards available on the market and can be categorised into two groups, per below.
Over-the-counter |
Custom-fitted
|
| Stock mouthguard is place in a boiling water, then bitten into fitting.
Far less effective Result is uneven thickness of material Less retentive and loose fitting May interfere with speech and breathing
|
Professionally made by taking an accurate impression of your teeth and customised to it in a dental laboratory
Superior and more resilient with appropriate thickness of protective material Comfortable, well fitting Won’t fall out during play Allows normal speech Won’t restrict your breathing. |
Australian Dental Association recommends a custom-fitted mouthguard for all Australian who participate in contact sport or sports with high risk of dental injury.
Caring for your mouthguard
- Check the fitting on old mouthguard with dentist at the start of new season
- Rinse it under tap water after use
- Store in rigid container
- Avoid storing it in the car and keep out of direct sunlight
If you or your kids play contact sport, please talk to us about getting a custom-made mouthguard.
Recent Comments