Why Mouth Guards Are Important For Sports?

If you play sports, a mouth guard is a vital piece of equipment. It can prevent serious injury to your teeth, jaw, and mouth. It can also protect against broken or chipped teeth.

However, you don’t need to be a professional athlete to benefit from mouthguards. Those suffering from bruxism (teeth grinding while asleep) can also use them.

Protects Your Teeth

Whether you’re playing a full-contact sport like football or a less dangerous recreational activity like basketball, mouthguards protect your teeth from injury. They help prevent chipped or knocked-loose teeth from impact injuries, especially when the ball hits your mouth or a hard elbow hits your face.

They can also reduce the risk of a concussion by adding padding between your jaw and skull, which can reduce the force exerted on the brain. They are also used to treat bruxism, which is a condition where patients unconsciously grind and clench their teeth while they sleep, causing tooth damage, jaw pain, and headaches.

There are two main types of mouth guards Madison al available to purchase from a store. Stock mouth guards are pre-formed and ready to wear, while boil and bite mouth guards require a few minutes in hot water to soften before being inserted into the mouth to customize their fit. Custom-fitted mouthguards provide a better fit and are more effective in protecting against teeth-related injuries and snoring or sleep apnea.

Prevents Tooth Damage

Athletes who participate in contact sports, or even certain non-contact sports, should wear mouthguards. They help to prevent tooth damage caused by collisions and accidents. A blow to the face or mouth can fracture a tooth or knock it loose. In addition, teeth that are chipped or cracked can easily become decayed. Many dental emergencies are due to sports-related injuries and can be prevented with a mouth guard.

The most effective mouthguards are custom-fitted. They are designed in a dentist’s office using impressions of the patient’s teeth and mouth. The dentist uses dental putty or a handheld digital wand to create the impressions. Then a mold is made of the impressions and a mouth guard is fabricated over it. Mouth guards also protect teeth from clenching and grinding, known as bruxism. This is a common problem among people with sleep apnea. Mouth guards Madison al are very thick and help to cushion the teeth against the force of clenching and grinding.

Prevents Concussions

Mouth guards are worn in contact sports to protect the teeth and jaws. They also prevent the soft tissue in the mouth from injury such as bruising or laceration. However, recently researchers have discovered that mouth guards can also help prevent concussions.

A large study of 847 athletes who played collision and contact sports over 9 years found that athletes wearing the PowerPlus mouth guard suffered fewer concussions than those without the mouth guard. The PowerPlus mouth guard is fitted to the physiologic rest position of the mandible and positions the lower jaw in a more stable position against an upward blow.

The sensors in the mouth guard collect kinematic data including impact speed, direction, force and severity. These data can be compared to the data from a player’s helmet sensors to measure the level of impact behind the head and brain. Currently, these sensors are used by 10 NFL teams and several college football programs including the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Prevents Teeth Grinding

If you grind or clench your teeth at night, a mouth guard can help protect your teeth and jaw from damage. The force exerted on the teeth from grinding and clenching can cause your teeth to crack or even get knocked out. Dental bills for crowns, veneers, or other restorations can also add up over time if the grinding is severe with dental emergency.

Mouth guards Madison al can also prevent bruxism, which is usually caused by stress and anxiety. People who suffer from bruxism often wake up with sore or painful jaws, headaches, and face and neck muscles. The most common treatment for bruxism is wearing a mouth guard while sleeping at night.

Over-the-counter mouthguards are available without a prescription but tend to be ill-fitting, bulky, and uncomfortable. Boil-and-bite mouthguards can be boiled and bitten to create a mold but are still not a good fit for everyone. The best option is a custom mouth guard, in which your dentist will take impressions of your teeth using dental putty or a digital handheld device and then have a lab fabricate a mouth guard to fit your teeth.