When it comes to watching your child play their favorite sport, you can’t help but cheer them on from the sidelines. But with all the excitement and fun, there is a level of uncertainty when it comes to their safety. You’ve equipped them with everything they need to ensure their head, hands, shoulders, and shins remain fully protected, but what about their mouth? If you want to keep their teeth fully intact while also avoiding a trip to the emergency dentist’s office, find out why it’s better to invest in custom mouthguards as opposed to the store-bought variety.
Store-Bought vs. Custom Mouthguards
When comparing these two types of mouth protection, one of the biggest factors is likely to be the cost. Naturally, a store-bought device will be much cheaper than those created by a dentist, but several disadvantages come with your local drug store mouthguard, such as:
- Improper fit that results in players often refusing to wear them because they’re uncomfortable
- Less durable, which means you must replace them more frequently
- Require you to capture your own bite through what is known as a “boil and bite” process, which can lead to necessary adjustments
With a custom mouthguard, however, you can avoid all these unnecessary and problematic issues. Instead, your dentist in Tappan can easily take impressions of your or your child’s mouth so that when it is created by lab technicians, the device will be customized according to your smile.
As a result, the finalized mouthguard will fit comfortably inside the mouth, which means it will provide the maximum level of protection on the field. How so? When an oral device feels good inside the mouth, it is more likely to be worn than continually removed.
Also, with custom mouthguards, you can expect them to last much longer because of their greater durability, which allows them to withstand greater levels of pressure.
Why Mouthguards Are Necessary
Even after all the discussion about which mouthguard to choose, you may wonder just how effective they are at protecting teeth and gums. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, an estimated 13-39% of dental injuries are sports-related, and more than five million teeth are avulsed every year, many of which occur while playing contact sports.
The National Youth Sports Foundation for Safety states that athletes are 60 times more likely to experience damage to their teeth when playing without a mouthguard. This can result in spending thousands of dollars to treat the injuries as well as replace missing or severely damaged teeth.
By equipping your child with a custom mouthguard, you’ll not only better protect their smile from serious damage, but your investment in a higher-quality product will help you to save in the long run. Instead of paying a dentist to treat your child’s injured teeth and/or gums, you can pay them to safeguard their pearly whites while engaging in their favorite sport.
About the Practice
At Smile More Dentistry, our team of dentists believes in helping all patients achieve healthy, beautiful smiles. This is why we are committed to providing patients with custom mouthguards. Because we understand that individuals, especially youth, enjoy playing contact sports, we must play a role in keeping teeth and gums better protected. If you would like to learn how you can better safeguard your or your child’s smile, visit our website or call (845) 675-1512.