Recreational, amateur and professional athletes of every age across Michigan and the United States sustain oral injuries every day of the year. Those oral injuries may involve chipped, cracked and broken teeth, lacerations and bruises. Injuries to the mouth of an athlete — young or old — may also involve traumatic injuries to the athlete’s jaw, face or head. Oral injuries sustained in collisions and impacts in an almost infinitely wide variety of sports and recreational activities are often also associated with concussions. According to a report by University of Michigan Health, nearly 3,800,000 sports-related concussions occur annually and affect five to 10% of athletes. To put that in perspective, that means four to seven members of a 40 to 70-person high school football roster may sustain a concussion in a given year.
Sports injuries generally, but oral injuries and concussions specifically, can change the life of child athletes suddenly and permanently or expose those young athletes to the trauma of the injury and necessary treatment. That’s the bad news. The good news? Many oral injuries and even concussions can be prevented or at least be rendered less serious by wearing a mouth guard while participating in sports.
What types of mouth guards are there?
There are three primary types of available mouthguards in Livonia: stock, “boil-and-bite,” and custom. We will briefly review each type, particularly from the perspective of protecting children (but the principles are the same).
Stock mouth guards
Stock mouth guards near you are the opposite of custom fit mouth guards. In other words, they’re one size fits all — albeit in different sizes — units that you purchase off the shelf. They are not custom fit to any athlete’s mouth.
Every person’s mouth and the location of their teeth in their jaws is different. Stock mouth guards designed to fit the common denominator within a size range will provide minimal protection for the simple reason that they won’t fit. To compensate for that lack of fit, athletes may bite firmly down on a loose stock mouth guard to hold it in place. Doing so compromises your ability to speak and breathe, and forces your jaw and teeth into an unnatural and stressful position. That may increase, rather than decrease, the risk of oral injury.
“Boil-and-bite” mouth guards
Boil-and-bite mouth guards can be purchased at sporting goods stores, and are typically made of inexpensive rubber that softens and becomes pliable under high heat. To customize it to your needs, you boil it in water, then bite down into the softened material. In principle, it’s similar to making a mold in the dentist’s office. As the rubber cools, the impression you make in the mouth guard will be maintained.
While boil-and-bite mouth guards offer more protection than a stock mouth guard because they’re at least customized to the athlete’s mouth, they’re infamously uncomfortable and are known to tear easily. If you’re a parent looking to protect your child, the last thing you want to rely on is an uncomfortable mouth guard that your child probably won’t wear consistently.
Customized sports mouth guards
A dentist in Livonia can create a custom sports mouth guard that will be comfortable and provide all the necessary protection for your child’s teeth while ensuring your child can breathe properly. Your dentist can craft a mouth guard that will even protect your child if they wear braces.
Customized mouth guards from a dentist in Livonia offer essential protection for your child’s mouth in a format customized precisely for your child. After all, your child didn’t come off the shelf. Why should their essential protective equipment?
If your child is participating in contact sports without protection, or vulnerable to injury while using a stock or boil-and-bite mouth guard, contact a dentist near you to ask to upgrade their equipment.
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