Mouthguards Can Keep Your Family Smiling

It won’t be long now before your favorite young athletes take to the field again. The first games of the fall sports season will begin in a matter of weeks, which makes today a great day to plan a visit to Fox Family Dentistry.

You want to protect children’s teeth on the field so they can keep smiling when the games are over. The best protection you can provide against dental injuries is custom-fitted athletic mouthguards .

We will be happy to make one for every athlete in your family from the youth league and high school stars to the weekend warriors and rec league players trying to recapture their glory days.

You don’t have to be a pro to get hit with a ball or an elbow, and having a mouthguard could make the difference between a dental emergency and a sore lip.

If you live in or near Burke, VA, please call 703-978-5253 or contact us online to make your appointment soon.

A Mouthguard Can Make a World of Difference

The American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the American Association of Orthodontists, and the Academy for Sports Dentistry all agree. Everyone should wear a mouthguard while playing or practicing a high-impact sport.

Statistically, athletes who do not wear mouthguards are 60 times more likely to suffer oral injuries than athletes who do. In spite of this, a recent survey conducted on behalf of the American Association of Orthodontists revealed that 84 percent of children do not wear mouthguards while playing sports.

The National Youth Sports Safety Foundation estimates that 3 million teeth are knocked out during youth sports every year. Would mouthguards save all 3 million teeth? Probably not, but we feel confident that number would be much lower if more people wore mouthguards.

So, what sports are considered high-impact? To put it another way, which of these athletes should be wearing mouthguards according to the dental organizations mentioned above?

• Cheerleaders
• Basketball players
• Field hockey players
• Football players
• Gymnasts
• Volleyball players
• Wrestlers
• All of the above

We bet you figured that all of the above is the right answer. Any sports that involve changing speeds or direction frequently, jumping, flying objects, or contact between participants have the potential to cause dental injuries.

Wearing any mouthguard will provide some protection, but not all mouthguards are the same.

How Much Protection Is Enough?

We hope for your own sake that you put on your seatbelt whenever you are driving or riding in a car. You know that a seatbelt is not going to stop an accident from happening, but it could make big difference in what happens to the people in the car if an accident takes place.

This also makes for a good comparison with different types of mouthguards.

Playing sports without a mouthguard is sort of likely driving in a convertible with the top down and without wearing a seatbelt. It only takes one moment for things to go very wrong.

Wearing a stock mouthguard is like driving in a car with your seatbelt on. You have some protection against an impact, and it can minimize the injury you receive.

Wearing a boil-and-bite mouthguard is like driving in a car with a seatbelt and airbags. You have stepped up the level of safety in the event of a collision.

Finally, a custom-fitted mouthguard is like wearing a five-point harness. There’s a reason these are mandatory in NASCAR races and are used in child safety seats. Likewise, custom-fitted mouthguards will provide the best protection for all the athletes in your family.

Protect Your Favorite Smiles

Call 703-978-5253 or contact Fox Family Dentistry online today. Request an appointment to have mouthguards made for your loved ones at our dentist office in Burke, VA.