Sportsmen across the globe face the risk of dental injuries while playing their chosen sports. This is not just at the amateur level, but also at the professional level as well.   Even Olympic athletes face these risks!  So no matter whatever level of sports you are playing or competing at, it holds true that wearing a sports mouth guard is extremely important.

Every year there are approximately five million teeth knocked out, and about 35% of those are caused by playing sports. Dentists recommend that mouth guards should be worn during both recreational and professional sports.

Sports mouth guards protect the player from a multitude of injuries, such as neck, broken or knocked out teeth, loose teeth, and fractures of the facial bones.  All of these injuries are costly to repair, and for children, the process is more extensive as they are still growing.   The shock absorption property of the mouth guard is what allows it to protect the player from so much damage.

The three options for mouthguards are boil-and-bite, custom fitting, and stock. For people who have had a lot of dental work done, or for children, it is recommended you get a custom fit guard done by a dentist.   Custom mouth guards cost a lot more, but can offer much better protection than stock or boil-and-bite mouthguards.   After all, you wouldn’t want to pay for costly dental work repair!

Although stock mouthguards are the cheapest option out of all 3, buyer beware.  These often do not fit very well. The more gaps there are between the guard and your gums and teeth, the higher risk of injury to your face, teeth and gums.  This, of course, is a very big problem.

Boil-and-Bite mouthguard are by far one of the best options when purchasing a sports mouthguard.  The mouthguard is custom fitted to your mouth and is a lot more cost effective than a custom mouthguard. 

The last type of mouthguard is a custom fitted mouthguard.  While it is a lot more expensive than the other two options, some people find that it fits a lot more comfortably than boil-and-bite and stock mouthguards.

How do you know what sports mouth guards are recommended for? Well, The American Dental Association suggest that you wear a mouth guard while playing the following sports: basketball, shot putting, acrobatics, football, ice hockey, boxing, snowboarding, soccer, lacrosse, martial arts, squash, skateboarding, handball, field hockey, discus throwing, rugby, racquetball, surfing, skiing, water polo, weightlifting, skydiving, surfing, volleyball, and wrestling.  Wow!  That is quite a list of sports to wear a mouth guard for! 

So, if you play any of these sports , please talk to your dentist for a mouth guard fitting today !  This way, you will not be contributing to the 5 million teeth that are estimated to be lost in one year from playing sports!