Sports can get pretty intense as kids grow older – both in level of competition but also in level of physical contact. We understand that. Across the United States, sports can vary by season, but football is always in the fall. Have an athlete at home? Concerned about your team’s dental protection?
Here are a few considerations as we ramp into school sports season:
First of all, dentists recommend it, because dental injuries are the most commonly sustained orofacial injury during sports participation– and it’s mostly preventable! The American Dental Association recommends mouthguards for the following sports:
- Acrobats
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Field Hockey
- Football
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- ice hockey
- Lacrosse
- martial arts
- Racquetball
- roller hockey
- Rugby
- shot putting
- Skateboarding
- Skiing
- Skydiving
- Soccer
- Squash
- Surfing
- Volleyball
- water polo
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Second, custom-made mouthguards properly fabricated by your orthodontist have been shown to reduce the rate of concussion, head and neck injuries and dental and mandibular injuries. Repeat concussions can compound upon one another. A custom-made or custom-fit mouthguard is especially imperative after a concussion, especially when you consider that a second concussion is four times more likely than the chance of sustaining a first concussion. Mouthguards, properly fitted, prevent concussions from blows to the jaw, a common hit in football.
- Faceguards and mouthguards prevent about 200,000 injuries every year in high school and college football.
- Every athlete has 10% chance of sustaining an orofacial injury each season…
- … and that chance is 60 times more likely for athletes without mouthguards.
- Thinking it’s an unnecessary expense? Repairing a fractured tooth or replanting a tooth is many times more expensive than having your dentist design a custom-made mouthguard or fitting you for a mouthguard during orthodontic treatment.
- Avulsed teeth, when not properly preserved and replanted, is a huge esthetic liability and very expensive to replace requiring many visits to the dentist and long wait times between steps.
Stock mouthguards you can purchase at sports stores without any individual fitting provide protection but not at the level of a properly made/fit custom solution. If you are in doubt about the fit of your child’s mouthguard, bring it in for evaluation at your next visit and we will be happy to assess the fit for you.
But my child wears braces…
Pediatric Dentistry and Periodontic Specialists of Michigan understands that custom molded mouthguards are not practical for teeth that are on the move as they change position every day. For this reason, our office carries a line of Shock Doctor mouthguards custom designed to fit around teeth that are improving through orthodontic treatment. We can help you choose the right mouthguard for your mouth size and sport– even if it’s not football! Please inquire during your next visit.
Please do not hesitate to ask us about creating a custom made mouthguard today or at your next visit in our office.
About Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan, the offices of Drs. Delaney, Plunkett, Ralstrom, Makowski, Thanasas, Ker, and Associates
Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan have specialized in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics since 1968. Our family-friendly and newly renovated office gives patients and families a more comfortable and consistent experience with dentistry from the very beginning. Our pediatric dentists treat children from newborn to 18 years of age while our orthodontists provide care for both children and adults and are proud to be Premier Providers of Invisalign and Invisalign Teen services. The ability to treat all patients with compassion and individuality, including those that may have special needs reaches beyond our facility, which has treatment rooms available for children who require additional privacy and customized care options. We pioneered valued hospital affiliations to allow dental services to be performed at DMC Children’s Hospital and St. John Macomb Hospital, when appropriate or necessary, and our specialists are also proud to be on staff at Henry Ford and Beaumont hospitals.
