Custom designed mouthguards and nightguards are made of flexible plastic and molded to fit the shape of your teeth. Mouthguards are recommended to protect the jaw and teeth during physical activity and sports such as boxing, football, basketball, or other activities where your mouth may be hit. Guards also protect the soft tissues of your tongue, lips and cheek lining. Nightguards are recommended for patients who clench or grind their teeth at night as a way to protect their teeth and bite.
According to the American Dental Association, more than 200,000 oral injuries are prevented annually in this country by sports mouthguards1. While this is an impressive preventative figure, it is unfortunately estimated by the National Youth Sports Foundation that more than 5 million teeth will be knocked out in sporting activities this year2. These oral traumas will happen to children, high school and college level athletes. In fact, dental injuries are the most common type of orofacial injury sustained during participation in sports.
Why Custom Fabricated Sports Mouthguards?
The benefits of sports mouthguard protection has been well documented. In 1995 a study on the high incidence of oral injuries showed that in football, where moutguards are mandatory, only .07% of all injuries involved teeth and the oral cavity3. Conversely, in basketball where mouthguards are not worn, 34% of all injuries to players involved teeth and/or the oral cavity! Obviously dental injuries could also be significantly reduced if children, teenagers and adults involved in the following sports wore custom fabricated mouthguards: soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball, rollerblading, skateboarding, martial arts, boxing, hockey, kickboxing and mountain biking.
The Cost Of Sports Related Oral Injuries…
According to the Academy for Sports Dentistry, the lifetime dental rehabilitation costs can approach several thousand dollars per tooth, for the child or athlete who looses a tooth (or teeth) in a sporting injury4. This does not include the associated costs of hours in the dental office and the possible development of secondary problems such as periodontal disease. The total rehabilitation costs for a single knocked-out tooth are more than 20 times the preventative cost for a custom laminated, professional grade mouthguard.
PLAYSAFE mouthguards fit and protect better, providing you with a real competitive advantage.
This Could Have Been Prevented!
This serious trauma was caused by an elbow blow. It could have been avoided if the basketball player had been wearing a PLAYSAFE mouthguard.
Prevention Of Oral Injuries Can Save You Thousands!
Sports Mouthguards Are Not All Created Equal!
Comparing dentist fabricated, custom sports mouthguards with stock or boil and bite type mouthguards, typically found in sporting goods stores, reveals significant differences. Boil and bite type mouthguards do not fit as accurately as custom fabricated types so they often are uncomfortable and frequently interfere with the athletes breathing and speaking ability. At the First International Symposium on Dental Biomaterials in August of 1993, Dr. J. Park, Phd reported that boil and bite mouthguards provide a false sense of protection due to the dramatic decrease in thickness when the athlete bites it into place during its softened state. Dr. Park further stated that unless dramatic improvements are made, they (boil and bite mouthguards) should not be promoted by dentists to their sporting patients.
A Custom Fit Ensures Protection
Call our office to schedule an appointment today. (757) 425 1828
