Some thoughts on Sports Mouthguards
In my 25 years of practice, I have seen some awful injuries sustained by children and adults during sports activities. These injuries are painful, disfiguring, potentially dangerous, and, oftentimes, very expensive to fix. The frustrating this about them is that they are largely preventable!
Impact to the teeth can fracture them, displace them, or knock them out of the mouth entirely. Impact to the jaws can cause painful TMJ(jaw joint) problems. In extreme cases, impact to the mouth can cause concussion. I suspect that the impact that killed a young football player last year was an upward blow to the jaw.
Leaders in the field of sports dentistry and trauma prevention are very strong in their language urging athletes to take advantage of today’s technology to help prevent serious injury to the mouth, jaws, and head..
Recently, our office purchased equipment to make these wonderful appliances in our office. For about the cost of a uniform and a good pair of shoes, you can now enjoy state-of-the-art protection from the serious problems that could arise from a sudden impact to the mouth or jaws. If you or your children are involved in sports, please ask us about the benefit of using a good quality sports mouth guard!
