Custom Mouthguards
If your child is involved in sports, whether on a team or just in gym class, it’s important that they keep their teeth and mouth protected. A custom mouthguard can greatly reduce the risk of oral injuries that can sometimes happen during sports. Here’s what our pediatric dentists want you to know.
Does My Child Need a Mouthguard?
Many of the injuries we see in our pediatric patients come from sports accidents. While it’s common for children to wear a mouthguard during high-contact sports like football and hockey, a surprising number of oral injuries come from sports you might not expect, like gymnastics or soccer.
Without a mouthguard, accidents such as displaced and broken teeth, lacerations to the soft tissues, and jaw fractures occur much more frequently. We recommend that mouthguards be used for sports such as baseball and softball, hockey, football, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, and any other sport which could result in accidental
Why Choose Custom Mouthguards?
With mouthguards available at many sporting goods stores, why is it important to choose a custom mouthguard? The fit of the mouthguard is key to its overall effectiveness. A loose-fitting mouthguard can slide around in your child’s mouth during sports, making it ineffective when it comes to protecting against damage.
In addition, while preformed or boil-and-bite mouthguards might be readily available, they’re much less comfortable for your child to wear for extended periods of time. A mouthguard that doesn’t fit well can even cut or rub against your child’s tongue or gums, resulting in pain or injury. It’s hard to get your child to wear a mouthguard regularly if they don’t like the way it feels.
Our mouthguards are made specifically for your child’s mouth by taking an impression of your child’s teeth, so they will have a better fit than those that can be bought in stores. We make sure that our custom mouthguards fit snugly and comfortably in our patients’ mouths. While mouthguards do need to be replaced as they wear out, our pediatric dentists are happy to work with you to make sure your child always has a mouthguard that fits just right.
Call Today!
Because we feel so strongly about the importance of mouthguard use in sports, we can set up a time for your entire team to come and be fit with our professional mouthguards. We can even put your child’s initials or roster number on the mouth guard, and make it in your team color! Please call our office at 518-785-3911 for more information.