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Sports Guard / Mouth Guard

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.

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What is a mouth guard?

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.

How Do I Know If I Need A Mouth Guard?

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.

Cause of teeth grinding (video)

What does a mouth guard do?

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.


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Mouth Guard to Protect Your Braces

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.

Should I get a commercial or custom made mouth guard?

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.

Why should I get a custom mouth guard?

Here are some important facts about custom mouth guards that may encourage you to think twice before playing without one.

  • Statistics indicate that custom mouth guards prevent most potential oral/dental injuries.
  • Custom mouth guards have been proven to offer as much as 100 percent more protection than off-the-shelf products.
  • Custom mouth guards can be produced for children as young as 7 years of age.
  • Custom mouth guards can also be worn over dentures.
  • Custom mouth guards are for every sports enthusiast, regardless of activity.

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The Mouth Guard Process

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.

What will the dentist do before fitting the mouth guard?

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.

How should you look after your mouth guard?

  • Rinse your mouth guard under cold water after each use and air-dry. Your mouth guard needs to be cleaned with mild soap and water or mouthwash and allowed to air dry after each use.
  • Store your mouth guard in a plastic container when not in use to avoid damage due to excessive heat and cold.
  • Wear your mouth guard properly. Do not cut or alter it and do not chew on it.
  • Check your mouth guard regularly and let your dentist know if it shows any signs of wear, or has any tears or cracks that may weaken it.
  • If the bite has changed and the mouth guard no longer fits well, it can sometimes be adjusted by the dentist.

Is there anything else to remember about mouth guards?

  • Do wear a mouth guard at all times when playing sports
  • Do inform yourself about the most common oral injuries
  • Do wear a mouth guard custom-fitted by your dentist, especially if you wear fixed dental appliances such as braces or bridgework
  • Do not wear removable appliances (retainers, bridge, or complete or partial dentures) when playing sports
  • Custom mouth guards are for every sports enthusiast, regardless of activity

Looking to add a little color to your life?

You can customize your Mouthwear with decals, and yellow biteplates are also available.


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What Is The Recovery Time?

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.

Am I A Candidate?

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.

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