DR. DIPILLA IS NOW When it comes to playing sports…purchasing new gear is part of the attraction. However, one piece of equipment that is a real necessity is one that many athletes tend to overlook – sports guards.
Mouth guards, or sports guards, are intended to provide a barrier between your teeth and soft tissue around your mouth. By doing so, this decreases the likelihood of damaging your teeth, lips, and other soft tissues in and around the mouth. This can ultimately prevent a painful episode such as chipped teeth, lip lacerations, or even complete tooth fractures, which would require expensive treatment to fix.
Research shows the 3 main reasons why sports guards are not being utilized: lack of awareness, cost and no firm requirement for their use. Due to this research, the American Dental Association has worked with many organizations to increase awareness and promote the use of these devices in contact, as well as, recreational sports, so dental related injuries can be avoided.
There are 3 types of mouth guards available to athletes—ready-made, boil and bite, and lab fabricated custom made. Lab fabricated, custom made mouth guards are the sports guard of choice, as they are the best fitting and fabricated with the supervision of a doctor. Although other sports guards may be inferior, they are certainly better than none at all. To protect your teeth, it is important to include a mouth guard as part of your necessary equipment. This will help to prevent the occurrence or severity of any injury that may be sustained when engaging in any sports activity.
