Sports mouth guard 101

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it – regardless of age or experience level, anyone taking part in any contact sport or activity should be wearing a mouth guard. While there are ready made and boil-and-bite versions out there at sporting goods stores that you can pick up for very little money, it’s absolutely worth it to invest a little more in a custom-made guard that fits you perfectly. Here are just three reasons why:

1. Better protection

The best way to prevent sports-related injuries to the teeth, jaw, or face is to wear properly fitting protective devices: that means helmets, face masks, and mouth guards, depending on the sport or activity.

It fits better, because it’s made just for you
A custom mouth guard is designed by a dentist, based on a model of your teeth, to perfectly fit your unique bite. A better fit means the mouth guard will be properly in place in the event of a blow, ready and able to protect you as it should.

Ready-made mouth guards – including boil-and-bite options – don’t form properly to your mouth, which means that you need to actually bite down on the guard to keep it in place. Not only is this just annoying and uncomfortable, but it also diminishes the mouth guard’s ability to provide proper protection, and can even cause the mouth guard to become lodged in your airway following a blow.

A mouth guard significantly reduces the chances of tooth damage, concussion, and other injuries
Wearing a mouth guard will reduce your chance of breaking or losing your front teeth by about 90%, and it does a lot more than that too. A good mouth guard also greatly reduces your chances of sustaining a face, neck, or head injury like a concussion or jaw fracture, and it will protect your lips, tongue, cheeks, and gums as well.

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2. Breathing and Talking

Better protection will always be our number one reason for recommending a custom mouth guard – but the benefits don’t stop there.

As we mentioned earlier, a ready made or boil-and-bite guard will not conform to your bite very well no matter how much you try, and that means you’ll be biting down on it to keep it in place. Anyone who has ever worn one of these guards can tell you how annoying that is – and how difficult talking becomes as a result. This means that communicating with your teammates or coach becomes a chore and often requires you to remove the mouth guard – not exactly ideal.

Proper breathing is so important to any sport, and biting down on your mouth guard to keep it in place will also impede your ability to breath in a focused and beneficial way.

3. Custom-made means custom options!

When you go with custom-made, we’re making this mouth guard just for you, and along with the perfect fit, that means you get to choose some features! We can produce mouth guards of varying thicknesses and styles to make sure you have the right protection for your sport. We can also produce a variety of colours – meaning your team colours can extend beyond your jersey, or you can emulate the style of your favourite player. Talk to your dentist about the options when you come in for a consultation, and really make it your own!

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Let us take it from there!

Learn more about the importance of custom mouth guards and the process here, and get in touch with us to book your consultation! It might cost you a few more dollars up front, but investing in a custom mouth guard will save you money – and a lot more – down the road.