With the kids back in school and crisp autumn days approaching, we automatically think football. But along with school sports comes the protective sports mouthguard.
While our minds don’t automatically jump to mouthguards in the fall, keeping your smile and teeth healthy and protected is a big job for this small dental appliance. A fitted, custom-made mouthguard will help absorb the shock and spread the impact of a blow to the face in the event of an injury.
Broken or knocked out teeth, broken jaws and cuts to the lips and mouth can occur when playing sports. The American Dental Association (ADA) states an athlete is 60 times more likely to suffer harm to the teeth and mouth when nor wearing a mouthguard. And you don’t have to be a professional athlete to have damage to your mouth or teeth.
Dental injuries can mean time off from school or work, pain and possibly disfigurement, and can result in lengthy and costly treatment. This can far exceed the cost of a custom-fitted mouthguard designed to help protect the teeth from injury.
Dirty mouthguard. Image courtesy of R. Thomas Glass, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Keeping your mouthguard clean eliminates bacteria, yeasts and molds that can live on your mouthguard and cause:
- cavities
- gum disease
- bad breath
- bacterial infection (which can result in wheezing, nausea, fever or diarrhea)
- oral lesions
- staph infections which may spread to the lungs or heart
Running your mouthguard under water is not enough to make it truly clean. Brush it with toothpaste and a toothbrush and rinse with cool water after each use. Store it in the case provided after cleaning.
Bring your mouthguard to your next dental appointment and Dr. Luther’s staff will run it through the sonic cleaner with solution specially designed to clean appliances that go in the mouth.
