Did you know that on average around 35% of dental injuries occur because of sports? In fact, it’s quite often that sports players sacrifice their front teeth for that picture perfect sports moment.
The majority of dental injuries involve front teeth, which is why Heroes Dental wants you to know there are options for you this summer, if you or your child is going to be involved in sports activities.
Protect your smile while staying active this summer.
If you’re new to sports, you might not have heard of mouthguards before. Sometimes they’re also called mouth protectors.
Mouthguards serve a simple but great purpose – they protect your teeth, gums, lips, and tongue from injury.
We know repairing dental injuries can sometimes be costly, but they’re easy to prevent with the right mouthguard. Mouthguards prevent nearly 200,000 mouth injuries a year for football players. Now that’s saying a lot!
Who can use mouthguards?
Mouthguards are suitable for both children and adults involved in contact sports like football, soccer, basketball, boxing, or softball. Contact sports are those in which players have a lot of physical contact with each other or other objects.
Are mouthguards for solo sports?
If solo sports are more your thing, don’t think that you’re completely safe from dental injuries.
If you’re a swimming fanatic and are planning on channeling your inner Michael Phelps this summer be aware of the damages caused by pool water.
Aside from drying out your skin and lightening the color of your hair, pool water also erodes tooth enamel. Do you know how often maintenance is given at your local aquatic center or even at your own pool at home?
If pH balance in a pool is too low the water becomes acidic and we here at Heroes Dental know that’s terrible news for tooth enamel. Swimming in this type of water too often can also brown and yellowish stains on your teeth. That is the last thing you should have to worry about if swimming this summer.
Stock Mouthguards vs. Custom-Made Mouthguards
It’s important for you to know the difference between stock mouthguards and custom made mouthguards.
Stock mouthguards are the ones you can find on the shelves of pharmacies and sporting goods stores. Stock mouthguards are pretty straightforward; they’re generally made of rubber and almost always inexpensive. The only downside to stock mouthguards is that they’re only available in limited sizes and don’t always fit very well.
To be kept in place they require you to keep your jaw clenched tight, which can become exceedingly uncomfortable with time, and might lead to you not using a mouthguard at all to avoid the discomfort.
Custom-made mouthguards, on the other hand, are normally pressed and uniquely hand cut on a model of your teeth by a dentist for a precise fit.
At Heroes Dental we know exactly what you’d like from your mouthguard – comfort, durability, and resistance to tears. Custom-made mouthguards also make it easier to breathe and speak while wearing them. The right mouthguard will properly align to your jaw and can help to improve your athletic performance.
There’s a reason why custom-made mouthguards are recommended worldwide by dentists and health organizations.
Before you start weaving through the defense for that winning touchdown, or channeling your inner Michael Jordan, don’t forget to protect your winning smile.
Contact us at any of our Heroes Dental offices conveniently located throughout South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley in Laredo, Mission, San Juan, Pharr, and Edinburg to start the summer right.