If you are an athlete or parent of one, you’ve probably heard of a mouthguard. If you haven’t, you should have! A mouthguard is a mouth protector, and is a flexible device worn over the teeth during athletic and recreational activities to protect them from damage.
If you play ice hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, and football, you absolutely need to wear a mouthguard, as mandated by the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association. However, besides these sports, the American Dental Association recommends the use of a mouthguard for 29 different sports and activities.
Some of these include the ones mentioned above, as well as acrobatics, basketball, boxing, gymnastics, volleyball, squash, wrestling, weightlifting, and many others. Whenever there is a chance of contact with other players or contact with a hard surface, wearing a mouthguard makes sense.
There are three different types of mouthguards:
- Pre-formed mouthguards: These can be bought in sporting goods stores and drugstores and are pre-formed and ready to wear.
- Mouth-formed mouthguards: These can be either a shell liner, or then a boil-and-bite kind. Both these types mold themselves to the contours of the teeth, using the fingers, lips, tongue, and biting pressure.
- Custom fit mouthguards: These provide the greatest degree of comfort, fit, and protection, because they are made from a custom model to precisely fit over your teeth. Your dentist creates an impression of your teeth, and a dental laboratory technician then uses the impression as a mold to create the custom-fitted mouthguard.
While all of these mouthguards have their own uses, custom fitted mouthguards are the most efficacious when it comes to protecting your teeth. Custom fitted mouthguards are better than off-the-shelf mouthguards at preventing injury, such as concussions or brain damage, jaw dislocation/fracture, fractured or lost teeth, cuts or bruises to the mouth and face, and stress to the neck. In this article, we’ll talk a bit more about the benefits of custom fitted mouthguards. Some of them are:
- Customization and proper fit: A poorly fitting mouthguard can do more damage than good. A custom fitted mouthguard is made to properly fit over your teeth, however irregular they may be. Custom fitted mouthguards are designed with your dental history in mind, as well as the sport you are playing. This means that any braces or appliances you have, will be protected as well!
- More comfortable than other mouthguards: A custom fitted mouthguard is made from a direct impression of your mouth, so there isn’t any unwanted or unnecessary bulky material left over. This type of mouthguard is more comfortable than other off-the-shelf mouthguards. This makes breathing, talking, and swallowing a lot easier.
- Increased protection: A custom fitted mouthguard will cover and protect all your teeth. If impact takes place, this mouthguard will absorb the shock and distribute the impact properly. Custom fitted mouthguards also prevent concussion and other brain injuries.
- Correct thickness depending on the sport: If you are planning on playing heavy contact sports, such as boxing, hockey, and football, your dentist will design a custom fitted mouthguard that will have the appropriate thickness to handle the impact and absorb the shock. For low contact sports, such as tennis and racquetball, the custom fitted mouthguard can be thinner.
- Available at the right cost: As with more injuries, prevention is key. Wearing a custom fitted mouthguard is better than going in for dental reconstructive surgery after a sports injury to your teeth and mouth. Rather than opting for an off-the-shelf mouthguard, do consider a custom fitted one, as the latter will protect not only your teeth and mouth, but also appliances you may have, such as dental implants and braces. Moreover, this will turn out to be less expensive in the long run.
So, these are some of the benefits of custom fitted mouthguards. Consult your dentist and consider getting a custom fitted mouthguard if you need to do so. At Bellevue Dental Health, we design custom-fitted mouthguards for athletes and others, depending on their need and the sport they play. Play hard but play safe!
For more information on custom fitted mouthguards as well as other dental questions, contact Dr. Libbi Finnessy of Bellevue Dental Health at 425-641-3311 or at info@bellevuedentalhealth.com.