This upcoming Saturday, May 4th, the McAllen dentists of Heroes Dental, along with the rest of the world, will be watching one of the year’s biggest boxing matches. The pride and joy of Mexico, and Unified Middleweight Champion, Canelo ‘Golden Boy’ Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs), will be back in the ring facing off against the IBF champion of the world, Daniel Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs).
In what appears to be one for the books, both historically and in Vegas odds, Alvarez is returning to the ring after he successfully won his rematch against Kazakhstani juggernaut, Gennady Golovkin. Jacobs looks to be another big challenge with a fighting-style that Canelo has not encountered thus far. Alvarez is favored to win, but it’s fight night and anything can happen.
While everyone will definitely enjoy watching this highly-anticipated boxing match this Cinco de Mayo weekend, your dental team here at Heroes Dental can’t help but recognize that these athletes have to take the best care possible of their bodies – and that includes their teeth.
What’s a million dollars without a million-dollar smile?
These men get offered a number of big sponsorships and make numerous public appearances, so they have to take care of their teeth. This includes wearing a mouthguard to protect their pearly whites from the brutal onslaught they undergo each round.
Of course, protecting one’s teeth is one of the biggest priorities for any athlete in general.
Sports and Protecting Your Teeth
Let’s be honest here, you don’t need to be a professional athlete like Canelo Alvarez to realize how crucial protecting your teeth are. When it comes to playing sports, you can suffer a twisted ankle or other minor injury and it will heal in time. But if you chip a tooth or even lose one in action, it is NOT going to grow back.
In fact, it is reported that ⅓ of all dental injuries are sports-related.
If you’ve ever seen a basketball or football game in your life, you’ve probably seen players actively wearing (or even chewing on) a protective mouthguard. This mouthguard not only protects their teeth but also acts as a shield for their lips, tongue, jawline, and other areas of the mouth.
A decent mouthguard will definitely beat the cost of a dental visit to fix an injured tooth (even though we love seeing you here at Heroes Dental). According to Colgate, using a mouthguard helps to prevent 200,000 oral injuries every year!
Other notable statistics when it comes to athletes at the high school level include:
- 75% of dental injuries occur when there’s no mouthguard worn.
- 56% of concussions were suffered when the player was not wearing a mouthguard.
- 40% of injuries come from athletes playing baseball and basketball.
- 9% of all athletes suffered some sort of oral injury (with another 3% temporarily losing consciousness).
Suffice to say that mouthguards are an absolute essential when playing sports.
Types of Mouthguards and Other Things to Consider
There are plenty of different options for those interested in purchasing a mouthguard, including:
- Stock/In-Store Brands: These are the ones that you can buy at your local sports store and which are manufactured by brands such as Wilson, Nike, and Adidas. These tend to do the job just as good as any other piece but can possibly have a lesser life expectancy.
- “Boil and Bite” Mouthpieces: Another type you can find at a store. This type of model is pretty self-explanatory, you boil it first and then bite into it so you can get a more accurate fit.
- Custom Made: The type of pieces that you’d see someone like LeBron James or Canelo Alvarez wear. Your dentist takes a model of your teeth in order to create a mouthguard that fits perfectly. These types of mouthguards offer the best protection since they are custom fitted for YOU (or your little hero athlete).
Another main factor to consider is comfort. Believe it or not, a comfortable mouthguard can play a big factor in your ability to play well. While wearing a mouthguard, you’ll want to be able to breathe and communicate easily to figure out how to win the game. If your teammates can’t understand you, how are you going to pull off an ESPN Play-of-the-Day?
The Game-Winning Decision
Are you ready to see your child play sports and also make sure that his or her million-dollar smile is well protected? Then contact Heroes Dental today and consult with one our experienced and friendly family dentist to figure out what would be the appropriate type of mouthguard you or your child needs to lead their team to the state playoffs!
Visit our McAllen Heroes Dental office, or any of our other locations all across the Rio Grande Valley, and ask our trusted staff any questions you may have in regards to protecting your teeth when playing sports!
Who do you think is going to win the big fight? Make sure to follow us on Facebook and let us!
image source: http://www.espn.com