Does Your Child Need a Mouthguard?

As a parent, you know how important it is to keep your child happy and healthy as they grow. This involves not only protecting against your usual bumps, bruises, and strains, but also protecting the oral health of your child’s teeth.

Mouthguards are a great way to not only protect your child’s teeth, but also to prevent more serious injuries such as jaw fractures and concussions. In this article, we’ll be discussing why your child may need a mouthguard and how having one will help keep your child’s teeth safe and healthy as they grow.

Your Child Plays Sports

Sports are an incredibly important part of keeping children healthy, active, and encouraging social interaction as they grow. Having said that, children who play sports are often at increased risk for dental injuries. Whether it be basketball, hockey, football, soccer, lacrosse, cheerleading, off-road sports, there is always a risk of sustaining a dental injury or cranial injury.

Luckily, this risk can be mitigated by using a mouthguard such as a custom mouthguard, Boil & Bite, or a stock mouthguard. This is because mouthguards will not only protect the teeth but can also restrict their movement in the mouth to prevent them from being forced out of the gums. Mouthguards for athletics are fit to provide an elevated level of comfort, a snug and secure fit, and will create an additional layer of protection for your child. This will help protect their smile so they can go out there and give it their all while protecting their smile

The American Dental Association estimates that mouth guards prevent more than 200,000 oral injuries each year.

Protecting Orthodontic Work

Investing in orthodontic treatments for your child is a significant cost and can lead to hefty expenses down the road if the braces are damaged and need repair. Certain mouthguards can be worn while in braces to account for the size and shape of your child’s teeth as well as the presence of any orthodontic appliances. They can be worn after braces are removed to protect the investment you have made in their developing dentition and keep it healthy

Not to mention an injury while in orthodontic treatment can sometimes elongate the time required for care by weeks even months. That time is sometimes necessary to allow for teeth to heal or for treatment to be completed to restore your smile or deal with complications of the injury. If orthodontic treatment is initiated too soon after certain types of dental injuries it can lead to complications that are better off avoided if possible.