By Leo Cora
Approximately 5 million teeth are dislocated yearly because of contact sports injuries, which can have long-term and worse consequences. You need to remember that oral trauma and injuries go beyond teeth loss, which can cause damage to delicate mouth tissues or cause traumatic brain and neck injuries.
These can restrict your ability to partake in your favorite contact sports again. Therefore, whether your kids play contact sports or you’re a daily partaker in competitive sports, a dentist in Grand Rapids MI, recommends wearing a mouthguard. They are delicate plastic or laminate devices to prevent oral injury to the mouth, tongue, teeth, cheek, and jaw.
The American Dental Association projects that one-third of every dental injury is sports-related and that using a mouth guard can thwart over 200,000 oral injuries to the mouth every year. So, what are the benefits of wearing a mouthguard? Let’s discuss everything in detail!
- Safeguard Your Dental Restorations
You must be extra meticulous during contact sports if you have dental restorations, such as braces, crowns, and bridges. Damage to these dental restorations can harm your mouth and necessitate pricey replacements or repairs. Wearing a mouth guard will minimize the impact during a mishap, safeguarding your dental work from destruction.
- Save Your Money
Your teeth and dental restorations can break anytime if there’s no mouthguard. They may fracture, chip, or fall out during those contact sports. You may get deep bruises on the tongue, cheeks, lips, and gums. But safeguarding your head, mouth, and neck will thwart the pricey and complicated treatment requirements, saving thousands of dollars.
- This Can safeguard Against Delicate Tissue Injuries
Cut, grazed, or bruised cheeks, gums, and lips sometimes happen as a consequence of direct injury to the mouth region, which results in massive bleeding. Since dental mouthguards help cover up the teeth’s sensitive textures, they can help diminish soft tissue injuries. If this happens, and to regulate bleeding, you must rinse your kid’s mouth with a mild salt water solution and utilize a moistened piece of gauze to apply pressure for 15-20 minutes. Analgesics and a cold compress for 5-10 minutes can help reduce pain.
- Protect Against Knocked-Out Teeth
Nobody desires to have a knocked-out tooth, which happens if you don’t wear a mouth guard. Nevertheless, if you act quickly, your tooth might be saved. Early intervention may avoid irreparable damage, and the teeth that are put back in their socket and treated by an oral surgeon within five to ten minutes of being knocked out have the best likelihood of surviving.
If your kid loses a tooth, you need to pick up the tooth by crown, which is usually exposed in the mouth. Also, if it is grimy, give it a fast, mild rinse in water or milk. You must refrain from scrubbing it or removing any tissue fragments. Also, keep the tooth back in its socket quickly.
Types of Mouthguards
- Customized mouthguards – They are pricey but the most efficient option for athletes active in high-impact sports. The dental professional uses your teeth impression and mouth to build a customized mouthguard. If you have dental restorations, for example, braced and bridges, the dentist takes quick impressions around them to ensure the best fit.
- Stock mouthguards – They are the most affordable and quickly available mouthguards, which are pre-made and available in different sizes. Nevertheless, finding the best fit isn’t easy since they are pre-made. However, poorly fitted mouthguards can damage your teeth and gums and restrict your ability to communicate and breathe properly.
Conclusion
An adequately fitting mouthguard safeguards you from head, mouth, brain, and neck injuries without affecting your performance. So, getting a mouthguard while playing your contact sport is vital.
