Mouthguards (Sports)
Muncie, IN
 Our team at Advanced Family Dentistry is happy to fit you with a mouthguard to help protect your mouth from any injury while playing in the field. Mouthguards, just like the name suggests, are coverings placed over your teeth to protect them from impacts of collisions or falls during sporting activities.
During sporting activities, injuries are a common occurrence. While most body parts are prone to bruises, the mouth suffers gravely as teeth could chipped or broken. Falling without a mouthguard can lead to the teeth biting into the tongue or lips, leading to serious pain, and scars.
Common Dental Injuries during Sports
There are three main categories of dental injuries. The most common one is fracture. Colliding head-on with another player or falling can lead to a dental fracture. This can result in chipped or broken teeth. The result is usually excruciating pain especially when you later ingest cold food and drinks.
Another serious mouth injury is avulsion. It refers to the complete knocking out of the teeth, sometimes causing harm to the gum. If a tooth is knocked out after one has grown permanent teeth, there is never a chance of another one growing to replace it. The next best option is always to fix an artificial one.
A luxation can be another result of sports injury. It leads to the tooth assuming a wrong position even if it remains in the gum. A luxation can be an extruded tooth, or one that looks longer than the other neighboring teeth, or a lateral displacement that appears pulled forward or backward. Whichever the tooth injury, a patient is likely to experience lots of pain and discomfort. This all explains why using mouthguards is a necessity. Apart from them reducing the risk of hurting your tongue and lips, they also help you avoid chipping or breaking your teeth.
Types of Mouthguards
Stock mouthguards or ready-made mouth protectors are bought when they are ready to wear. They are the most affordable choice. Although they can be readily bought from a sporting goods store, you should get better value for your money with our dentists’ advice. Do not forget, however, that not much can be done to adjust them to a wearer’s preference.
Boil and Bite mouthguards can be a good alternative. They are crafted from a thermoplastic substance. To soften it so that it is ready for use, it is put in hot water before being placed over teeth for fitting to a convenient shape.
Custom-made mouthguards are the best option provided by our dentist to fit your needs. Since the instructions for crafting them at the dental lab comes from the dentist, they fit quite naturally, giving the comfort you deserve. To allow for the making of a custom-made mouthguard, an impression of your teeth is taken.
It is important to know that once an individual has grown permanent teeth, replacing a tooth that has been knocked out means going artificial. Permanent teeth never grow twice. Taking care of your natural teeth while still enjoying sports should, therefore, be your priority. For further information regarding mouthguards (sports), do consult us at Advanced Family Dentistry at (765) 287-5338. |
