There never has been a year where Pearland Family Dentistry hasn’t told their patients about the benefits of wearing a mouthguard when participating in contact sports. However, our advice to them comes after they have sustained treatable dental injuries.

If they had a mouthguard on, the extent of the dental injury could have greatly minimized. Since Pearland dentists aim is to promote the use of a mouthguard during contact sports, we want to provide our patients with advice before they hit the sports field.

The Importance of Wearing Mouthguards

- When you want to protect your head, you wear a helmet.

- When you want to protect your ribs, you wear a rib protector.

- When you want to protect your hands, you wear gloves.

And the list goes on and on…

We ask you why you don’t wear a mouthguard? Isn’t your smile just as important as the rest of your body? Unless you are going for that toothless grin, you will want to wear a mouthguard to protect that smile of yours. Here are five excellent reasons why you should not disregard wearing a mouthguard:

§  It acts as a cushion for your teeth during impact.
§  It protects your jaw joints from sustaining injuries.
§  It prevents soft tissue injuries.
§  It helps avoid jaw and neck injuries.
§  It may help decrease the occurrence of a concussion.

Getting any of the dental injuries mentioned above are painful, and nowhere a pleasant experience. If you want to keep on smiling confidently, you need to start by maintaining the smile by wearing a mouthguard. You can choose from two types of mouthguards.

The Custom Mouthguard

To design a dental mouthguard, the dentist will take a mould of your teeth. Since the mouthguards are tailor-made using your exact measurements, they are more effective in preventing dental injuries to your jaw and teeth.

The Over the Counter Mouthguards

You can buy over the counter mouthguards from a pharmacy, but it will do little to protect your jaw and teeth from injury, as they will not be of your exact measurements and might be uncomfortable to wear.

Which One Do Professional Dentists Recommend?

Professional dentists do not recommend that athletes purchase over the counter mouthguards, as the risk of injury is still present. Sports players should invest in a custom mouthguard, especially if they are part of a sports team in school. If you play the following sports, you need a mouthguard:

          §   BMX Bike Riding
§  Skateboarding
§  Horse Riding
§  Soccer
§  Football
§  Squash
§  In-line Skating
§  Lacrosse
§  Basketball
§  Baseball
§  Softball

Do not forget to clean your mouthguard with cold and soapy water after use, as you do not want your mouthgaurd to cause you an infection. Once it is disinfected, store it in dry and clean plastic container, taking it out when it’s time to play your next big game.

Are you looking to get a custom mouthguard or has the damage already been done to your smile? Pearland Family Dentistry can design a mouthguard for you and help restore your smile. Make an appointment with one of our qualified dentists, so we can help you preserve your smile.