We recognize that dental injuries while playing sports are a common occurrence. We believe, as does the American Dental Association, that using a properly fitted mouth guard while playing sports is the best way to reduce the amount and severity of sports-related dental injuries.
Mouth wear can help you improve in your favorite sport—from baseball to golf to hockey. Because these custom-created mouthpieces prevent you from clenching your teeth during training or competition, your body doesn’t trigger your brain to release performance-hindering hormones that can lead to decreased performance due to stress, tiredness, or simple distraction. Mouth guards help cushion a collision to your face and minimize the risk of broken teeth and injuries to your lips, tongue, face or jaw during sports or high activity.
The mouth guard acts as a protective barrier that dissipates and distributes the forces that occur during an impact. If these forces are successfully minimized, the severity of an injury is reduced. Whether young or old, we are committed to promoting oral health and safety for all sports participants.
When it comes to protecting your mouth, Mouth wear is an excellent option for most athletes ages 8 and up that should always be available during contact sports. While collision and contact sports are higher-risk sports for the mouth and teeth, any athlete may experience a dental injury in non-contact activities too.
A mouth guard basically acts as a shock absorber for the teeth and jaw. The capacity of a mouth guard to lessen impact injury depends on the interaction of the mouth guard material and its design. In general, mouth guards serve to both ‘absorb’ the impact energy and spread it over a larger surface area to reduce tooth injuries or jaw fractures. For a mouth guard to properly protect your teeth it must be custom made and fitted. A mouth guard should be comfortable to wear, have good retention and fit, and cause minimal interference of speech and breathing.
A properly fitted mouth guard may be necessary for people who wear braces or have fixed bridge work. A blow to the face could damage the brackets. A mouth guard can also help you avoid injuries to your gums and cheeks by providing a barrier between the braces and your cheek or lips during potential collisions. Talk to your dentist or orthodontist at BDC about selecting the right mouth guard for your protection. Do not wear a retainer during any contact sports.
There are currently mouth guards which are commercially available. It is recommended to choose the custom made mouth guard as it provides better protection, fits better and is more comfortable to wear.
Here are some important facts about custom mouth guards that may encourage you to think twice before playing without one.
In Bharath Dental Clinic will simply make an impression of your top and bottom teeth as well as taking a bite impression—and that’s it! Once your dentist finishes with the impressions, your Mouth Guard will typically be back in our office in around 2 days.
Our dentist will consider a number of factors when fitting a patient for a mouth guard. Size of mouth, bite, type of sport played and whether or not the patient wears braces or other appliances are all important considerations. Each patient’s very specific needs must be addressed for maximum comfort and protection. Parents need to remember that using a mouth guard will significantly reduce a child’s risk of mouth trauma. Even in non contact sports, such as gymnastics, mouth guards help protect children from injury.
You can customize your Mouthwear with decals, and yellow biteplates are also available.
Talk to your dentist about when to replace or inspect your mouth guard, but replace it immediately if it shows sign of wear or is damaged. Teens and children may need to replace their mouth guards more often because their mouths are still growing and changing.
Dental injuries while playing sports is a common occurrence, and using a properly fitted mouth guard during sports activities is the best way to reduce the amount and severity of sports-related dental traumas. Book an appointment with one of our dentists to see which mouth guard may work best for you. Or call 7676719103 if you have any questions.