Sports Guard Tumwater, WA
Over three million teeth are knocked out each and every year. Not surprisingly, most of those teeth are lost while playing sports. Don’t risk your child’s smile by allowing them to participate in sports without a quality mouthguard. Our professionals at Deschutes River Dentistry can create a custom sports mouthguard for your child that will effectively protect their teeth from damage.
Who Should Wear a Mouthguard?
Anyone playing a sport or participating in an activity that carries the risk of impact or collision needs a mouthguard. This doesn’t just mean kids playing football or hockey. Your child could just as easily lose a tooth by falling off their skateboard or bicycle as they could from running into someone on the field. The same goes for lower-contact activities such as basketball.
As a parent, you want to protect your child during sports and recreational activities. Our team recommends custom mouthguards for a wide range of athletic pursuits as a proactive safety measure. While we hope injuries never occur, accidents can happen unexpectedly during play. A custom mouthguard provides essential protection that can help prevent dental trauma and the need for emergency treatment or restorative procedures. By taking this preventive step, you’re investing in your child’s oral health and giving yourself peace of mind while they enjoy their favorite activities.
What Types of Mouthguards Are There?
There are many different brands and varieties of mouthguards, but they’re essentially divided into three main styles. The first is a stock or generic mouthguard. These are ready to use right out of the package, but they don’t provide very good protection for your child’s teeth because they aren’t shaped specifically for them.
The next type is slightly better than a stock mouthguard and is called a boil-and-bite mouthguard. As the name suggests, you boil this mouthguard, dip it in cool water, and have your child bite down on it so that it conforms to their teeth. This type is much better than a stock mouthguard, but an improper fit or biting down too hard can leave insufficient material in the necessary locations to protect your child.
The best type is the custom mouthguards manufactured in a dental office, like the ones made by our Deschutes River Dentistry team. We will take an impression of your child’s mouth and use it to create their custom mouthguard. These provide a more comfortable fit and have the appropriate amount of material exactly where it’s needed for maximum protection.
How Often Do Sportsguards Need to Be Replaced?
It’s generally recommended that you get your child a new mouthguard after every season, or every six months if they play multiple sports throughout the year. This is because the mouthguard will wear over time, and the material will thin out and not fit as securely to your child’s teeth.
If you’re considering signing your child up for the next season of football or softball, or if they’ve already started their season, then it’s time to visit our professionals at Deschutes River Dentistry for a custom sports mouthguard. You can schedule an appointment by calling us at (360) 786-9354.