Sports give our kids something to get up for in the mornings. The highest risk of mouth injury comes during participation in basketball, football, hockey, martial arts, and boxing. While many sports are not operating at full capacity during the pandemic, the governor has recently opened up opportunities for more sports to resume practice and even competition.
If your child is an athlete, it’s imperative that he or she is fitted with the appropriate mouthguard to avoid potentially devastating damage that mouth injuries can have on your child’s growing smile.
All of the time spent caring for the teeth with brushing, flossing, and visits to the dentist, can come crashing down after one bad accident. A significant dental injury can change your child’s smile forever, because 80% of all dental injuries affect the front teeth.
According to the CDC, 600,000 emergency room visits are for sports-related dental injuries, with more than 5 million teeth avulsed (knocked out) each year during sports activities. Those are huge and devastating numbers.
Wearing a mouthguard can prevent most of this. And, there really isn’t a best mouthguard out there. We get that question all the time. Ultimately, the best mouth guard is the mouthguard your child actually wears. We are happy to provide advice on choices (especially when braces/orthodontic treatment is ongoing).
While there are stock and boil-and-bite mouthguards, it can be best to consult your pediatric dentist or orthodontist for a custom fit mouthguard. Ideally, custom fit mouthguards are made after orthodontic treatment is completed. During orthodontic treatment, a special mouthguard that allows the teeth to continue movement is necessary and we have these in stock in our office. Inexpensive formable mouthguards are most appropriate for younger children playing sports less intensely and this allows re-forming as baby teeth come and go.
About Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan
Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan has 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. We have the ability to treat all patients with compassion and individuality, including those that may have special needs as we have 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.
