Do you or your child play contact sports? Contact sports are any sport with contact between players, including soccer, basketball, hockey, football, and lacrosse. Patients need to wear custom sports mouthguards to protect their teeth from injury and loss. Especially if your child has an orthodontic appliance, it is important that they wear a mouthguard to protect their braces.
As a general dentistry treatment, mouthguards help prevent the need for cosmetic or restorative care. Wearing a mouthguard that fits properly can prevent the need for porcelain veneers, bonding treatment, and even dental implants.
Custom Sports Mouthguards: Treatment and Care
To create custom mouthguards for our patients, we will first take impressions of their teeth. These impressions are sent to a dental lab, where technicians create a mouthguard out of flexible plastic. Once the mouthguard is complete, we make sure that it fits precisely and feels comfortable to wear.
Patients should soak their mouthguards after each use in a mouthguard cleaner. This cleaner is typically a powder that dissolves in water. When the mouthguards are not in use, we recommend that patients keep them in their ventilated containers. Keeping the mouthguard clean helps remove any bacteria that can build up and cause problems like tooth decay or gum disease.
Can Mouthguards Treat Bite Disorders?
Temporomandibular joint disorders affect the health of the teeth and jaw. One common symptom of TMJ disorders is teeth clenching and grinding, also known as bruxism. For patients with bruxism, we will often recommend a night guard. although night guards are similar to sports mouthguards, they cannot be used interchangeably.
Night guards are meant to protect the chewing surfaces of the teeth and alleviate jaw pressure. Sports mouthguards protect the front of the teeth from any hits that can break the enamel or loosen the teeth. Night guards are usually made of hard acrylic, and sports mouthguards are flexible, rubbery plastic.
Call Our Dental Office Today
Do you need a mouthguard for the upcoming sports season? Request a dental consultation with our dentists online. You may also call Rosedale Family and Cosmetic Dentistry at (410) 376-8548. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns about mouthguard treatment. We will be happy to help.