Mouth Guards To Protect Children's Teeth

Mouth Guards To Protect Children's Teeth
If your child is involved in any sports activity, you
should consider whether getting them a mouthguard is a
smart thing to do. Many organized sports require
mouthguards, but the children don't always wear them as
required. Parents should make sure that their children
comply with mouthguard requirements.

The American Dental Association recommends a mouth guard
for participation in the following sports: acrobatics,
basketball, boxing, discus throwing, field hockey,
football, gymnastics, handball, ice hockey, lacrosse,
martial arts, racquetball, rugby, shot putting,
skateboarding, skiing, skydiving, soccer, squash, surfing,
volleyball, water polo, weightlifting and wrestling.

Dentists estimate that between 13% and 39% of dental
injuries occur while playing sports. Five million teeth
will be knocked out of children and young adults in the
United States during sports activities. Safechild.net
reports that 60% of organized sports-related injuries occur
during practice rather than during games.

The front teeth are most at risk. Approximately 80% of all
dental injuries affect one or more of the front teeth. Soft
tissue damage, as a result of biting the tongue or cheek,
is also common.

Approximately 200,000 oral injuries will be prevented by
mouth guard use in the next year. Bicycle-related head
injuries account for more than 150,000 emergency room
visits annually.

If a single tooth is knocked out through an accident
sustained in sports activity, the treatment will involve
either re-implantation with root canal therapy and possibly
crown or replacement therapy with a bridge or implant when
your child is old enough. There may be an interim period
where your child will have to wear a cumbersome removable
temporary appliance until they are old enough for a more
permanent solution. The expense of these treatments will
often be as much as 15-30 times the cost of a custom fit
mouthguard.

Mouth guards range from $5 (low-end bought in store) to
$150 (top of the line custom fit). The ready-to-wear,
U-shaped mouth guards, made from rubber or vinyl materials,
can be bought without a prescription in many sporting goods
stores. However, they do not evenly distribute the force of
an impact due to the looseness of a non-custom fit. Dr.
Brazis recommends that you avoid using these type of mouth
guards and suggests going to a dentist to have a
custom-fitted mouth guard made to fit comfortably in your
mouth and offer better protection.

If having a mouth guard custom-fit by a dentist isn't an
option, then the best alternative would be a
"boil-and-bite" mouth guard from the sporting goods stores.
These mouth guards are made from a type of plastic that
softens in boiling water. You place the mouth guard in
boiling water, and once the plastic is soft, you put it
into your mouth, bite down on it, and mold the softened
plastic around your teeth using your fingers, lips and
tongue.

Be careful not to scald yourself when removing the mouth
guard from the boiling water, and make sure that it isn't
too hot to put into your mouth. If the mouht guard doesn't
fit comfortably the first time, you can reheat it and do it
again.

Dentalnotes, a publication from the Academy of General
Dentistry, says mouth guards have to be kept clean. Users
should brush their teeth before inserting the guards, and
the guards should be cleaned after use. And, of course,
mouth guards should not be shared.

----------------------------------------------------
Steven J. Brazis has practiced family dentistry for 35
years. Get more suggestions on your children's dental
health in his online book: "Your Children's Teeth: A
Parent's Guide To Dental Health". Visit
http://www.yourchildrensteeth.com