Why Sports Guards Are So Important for Athletes

The possibility of a blow to the face or jaw is significantly high when playing sports. The risk is even higher in high-contact sports like boxing. Unfortunately, a sports accident can leave your teeth broken, chipped, or knocked out or hurt your gums, cheeks, or tongue. It can cause severe complications like jawbone fractures and concussions, leading to significant sports absence.

Fortunately, you can prevent all these complications by wearing a sports mouthguard. A sports guard is a dental device worn on both or either jaws to reduce the impact of oral injuries during sports.

Types of Sports Guards

There are three types of sports mouthguards you can get. These include:

• Stock mouth guard. These guards are pre-made and come in various sizes (small, medium, and large). Without a prescription, you can get them in the nearby sports or drug store. While cheap, they tend to be bulky, and it can be challenging to find a perfect fit. Thus, they tend to be uncomfortable and can cause difficulties speaking or breathing, affecting your productivity during a game.
• Bite-and-boil sports guards. As the name suggests, Bite-and-boil guards should be boiled and bit down to create a custom bite mold. While they fit better than stock guards, they also tend to be bulky, low-quality, and thus might not offer the best possible comfort and protection. Like stock guards, boil-and-bite guards are available in drug or sports stores without a prescription.
• Custom-made mouthguards. Custom mouth guards are made in the dentist’s office using molds or impressions of your teeth. They fit snugly, offering the best possible comfort and protection. They are made from higher quality materials, making them long-lasting than store-bought guards. Visit our office for custom sports guards in Sharon, MA.

Benefits of Wearing a Sports Guard

• Protect from teeth and jaw fractures

A blow to the face or jaw can result in significant jaw damage and teeth damage like chips, cracks, and breaks. Apart from causing severe discomfort, these injuries can lead to long-term complications and the need for invasive and costly treatments like jaw surgery.

A sports guard prevents the upper and lower teeth from crashing directly against each other, which can cause jaw and tooth damage. Similarly, it absorbs and distributes the force of a blow to the face or jaw, reducing a direct impact on the teeth and jaws. It prevents or reduces the severity of injuries to the jaw or teeth.

• Prevents concussions

A concussion is a common sports-related injury. While a helmet goes a long way in protecting your head against brain injuries, so does a mouth guard. A heavy blow to the head can cause traumatic brain injuries, which take months to recover from.

A study found that wearing a mouthguard lowers the risk of concussions by almost two-thirds. The guard tends to absorb and distribute the shock, limiting jaw movements and reducing the severity of injuries to the head and brain.

• Tooth displacement or knock out

Sports accidents are among the most common causes of knocked-out teeth. A heavy blow to the jaw can move a tooth out of alignment or knock it out of the mouth. A sports guard absorbs and distributes the impact of a crash to the jaw or tooth, significantly reducing the risk of displacing or dislodging teeth. Should you lose a tooth during sports, the sooner you can see our dentist Sharon, MA, the better your chances of saving the tooth.

• Protects against soft-tissue injuries

A heavy blow to the jaw or head can cause you to bite your cheeks, lip, or tongue. Teeth damage like chips and breaks can also hurt your soft tissue, resulting in mild to severe discomfort, bleeding, or swelling.

Wearing a sports guard limits the possibility of biting down on anything other than the guard itself, preventing tooth and soft-tissue injuries.

• It saves you money and time.

A sports guard protects you against dental, jaw, head, brain, and soft tissue injuries. These inquiries often cause invasive, uncomfortable, and costly treatments such as root canals, dental crowns, dental implants, jawbone surgery, and more. The cost of getting a sports guard is by far less than corrective treatments. It also saves you hours of treatment and recovery, which can lead to long sports avoidance.

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