Benefits of Wearing a Mouth Guard
If you love sports, then you’ve doubtless seen mouthguards in use by your favorite athletes. Mouthguards are an essential part of any athletic activity, serving to protect your teeth, jaws, and gums from injury while you give it your all. Whether you’re a professional athlete, like throwing the occasional ball with friends or like to strike out to places unknown while hiking or jogging, a mouthguard can protect your teeth.
How Does Wearing A Mouthguard Help my Oral Health?
Properly fitted mouthguards provide an incredible amount of protection to your teeth, jaw, and gums. Elbows to the face, slips, falls, and a softball to the face are generally all unexpected, and can all result in serious damage to your teeth or jaw. When you wear a mouthguard, you avoid experiencing some of the most common sports-related dental and head-related injuries.
- Trauma To The Teeth: Mouthguards absorb some of the force of blows to the face, protecting teeth from becoming broken or being knocked out.
- Concussions/Brain Injuries: A lesser-known, but just as important protection offered by mouthguards. The shock that is caused when a direct blow to the jaw happens is softened by the guard, protecting your brain.
- Soft Tissue Injuries: Your gums, lips, tongue, and inner cheeks are protected from your teeth, chomping down on them or splitting open from impact by the mouthguard.
- Protect Braces: Mouthguards also protect orthodontics like braces from becoming damaged and also prevent them from causing injury by being compressed into the jaws and teeth.
In addition to protecting your oral health, mouthguards can also save you a lot of money and time. Damage to orthodontics and your natural teeth can be very expensive to repair, so protecting them with a mouthguard is a great way to protect your investment.
How Do I Pick Out A Mouthguard?
There are multiple types of mouthguards, each coming with their own variety of benefits and drawbacks. Stock mouthguards are the least expensive and tend to be bulky and uncomfortable due to not being custom fit. They aren’t intended for long-term wear, and the protection they offer is minimal. Boil and bite mouthguards are better, being relatively inexpensive while providing a semi-custom fit through the boil and bite process from which it takes its name. Unfortunately, this same design can result in unevenness and risk of bite-through, limiting the amount of protection it can offer. Custom mouthguards offer the best protection, are made of high-quality materials, and last the longest. Their price-point is higher as a result, but its a worthy investment for the athletic enthusiast.
If you have additional concerns regarding mouthguards and whether you can benefit from wearing one during your favorite activities, it’s time to call AppleTree Dentistry in Tigard, OR today. Led by Dr. Scott T Simpson, our team of dental experts has been serving Tigard and the surrounding area with excellent dental care. During your appointment, you’ll receive a full dental exam and receive a consultation to help you pick the right mouthguard for you.
