March is a busy month for Thornleigh Dental Care – with the rugby league and rugby union season starting in April, we have lots of sports playing kids coming through our practice for their new mouth guards.
The mouth guard is the most important part of any football kit.
Dental injuries can be very painful, disfiguring and very expensive to treat. A mouth guard, custom made by a dentist, can significantly reduce the risk of dental injuries to your child’s teeth, lips, tongue, and soft tissues of the mouth.
A correctly fitted mouth guard should:
– be comfortable to wear but fit tightly
– allow normal breathing, swallowing, normal speech
– not cause gagging
– be odourless and tasteless
– be thick enough (4 mm) to provide protection against impact.
Why choose a mouth guard made by your dentist? Custom fitted mouth guards made by a dentist offer the best protection – they are an exact fit, they cover all of the top teeth, the walls of the mouthguard are thicker offering better shock absorbtion, they are less prone to damage. Mouth guards bought over the counter, whether stock fit or the boil and fit variety, have thinner walls so are not as shock absorbant and they are more prone to deform during use, they do not cover all of the teeth, and they are not an exact fit so can move during play, offering less protection.
How often should a mouthguard be replaced? For growing children, mouthguards should be replaced every year in order to accommodate the changing shape of the child’s bite as the mouth grows, and teeth continue to develop into adulthood. Also, the mouthguard will wear down during a season.
Custom made mouthguards come in all sorts of colours. Your junior sports star can select a mouth guard with his club colours, his favourite football team’s colours, or a glitter set. In fact, the more involved the child is the outcome of the mouthguard design, the more likely they will wear it with no fuss.
To ensure your child is ready for their first season tackle, call Thornleigh Dental Care on 02 9484 7760.
