Fall is upon us and, with it, fall sports. If your kiddos are involved in athletics, you may want to know how best to protect them from dental injuries. A mouth guard is obvious, but many children play casual sports with other kids and don’t wear one. Do you know how important mouth guards really are, even in pick-up sports activities?
First, did you know that over 5 million teeth are displaced from their socket due to trauma every year? This amounts to over $500 million in dental costs and $5-20,000 in dental costs for each incident over the child’s lifetime. That’s a great deal of money and a concurrent level of pain that could be prevented.
Football, hockey, martial arts, basketball and boxing are sports that carry the highest risk for dental injuries, but even noncontact sports carry a level of risk for facial injuries such as lacerations, tooth fracture or tooth loosening.
Mouth Guards Are Essential
Your child’s risk for injury to the face and/or teeth is 2 times higher without a mouth guard. That means that kids should wear a mouth guard even when they play pick-up sports at the park! IT’s common that kids find mouth guards uncomfortable but consider this: without a mouth guard the risk of injury goes up and the injury that could occur will be more expensive to address. Consider mouth guards like helmets—you wouldn’t let your child go biking without a helmet, right?
Tips
- Never let your child play sports—whether organized or casual—without a mouth guard. Even if they protest!
- Be sure the mouth guard is properly fitted.
- If you aren’t sure, ask us to check it out.
- Buy a custom-fitted mouth guard for the best protection. They are affordable and they will provide an extra level of protection.
We want our kids to be physically active. Protecting their mouth and teeth with a properly fitted mouth guard helps to ensure their continued happiness both while playing sports and over their lifetime!