MOUTH GUARDS
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Mouth guards are especially important to people who have braces on their teeth. Here are some Bioguard mouth guards made by Sportsguard Laboratory, Inc.


 HERE ARE COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT MOUTH GUARDS FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

What are athletic mouth protectors? 
Athletic mouth guard or protectors are made of soft plastic.  They are adapted to fit comfortably to the shape of the upper teeth.

Why are mouth guards important? 
Mouth guards hold top priority as sports equipment.  They protect nor just the teeth, but the lips, cheeks and tongue.  They help protect children from head and neck injuries such as concussions and jaw fractures.  Increasingly, organized sports are requiring mouth guards to prevent injury to athletes.  Research shows that most oral injuries occur when athletes are not wearing their mouth protection.

When should a child wear a mouth guard? 
Whenever he or she is in an activity with a risk of falls or of head contact with other players or equipment.  This includes football, baseball, soccer, hockey, skateboarding, even gymnastics.  We usually think of football and hockey as the most dangerous to teeth.  But nearly half of sports-related mouth injuries occur in baseball and basketball.

How do I choose a mouth guard? 
Any mouth guard works better than no mouth guard at all. So, choose a mouth guard that your child can wear comfortably.  If a mouth guard feels bulky or interferes with speech, it will be left in the locker room.  There are "boil-to-fit" mouth guards in stores and there are customized mouth guards provided through your pediatric dentist.
 

 
Here are some facts about mouth guards from Sportsguard Laboratory, Inc.
Dental injuries are the most common injuries to the face that happens during sports.
The majority of these injuries are preventable with mouth guards.
More than 5 million teeth are knocked out each year during sports.
The cost of a mouth guard is small compared to the cost of repairing a fractured tooth.
A properly fitted custom mouth guard reduces the chance of sustaining a concussion from a blow to the jaw.
 
The American Dental Association recommends wearing custom mouth guards for the following sports: Acrobats, basketball, boxing, field hockey, football, gymnastics,  handball, ice hockey, lacrosse, martial arts, racquetball, roller hockey, rugby, shot putting, skateboarding, skiing, skydiving, soccer, squash, surfing, volleyball, water polo, weight lifting, wrestling.
     Mouth guards  protect against concussions by serving as a shock absorber, they protect against neck  injuries, and they protect the teeth by distributing the force of a blow over all the teeth and diminishing contact between the lower jaw and the upper jaw.

     A mouth guard with the proper thickness of 3 to 5 mm (multi-laminated) can reduce the rate of concussion by preventing the condyle (lower jaw hinge) from being forced into the base of the brain (temporal bone) at impact. Ninety five percent of all football concussions are transmitted through the mandible to the brain (Witzig, 1992).

     A concussion is defined as head trauma induced alteration in mental status that may or may not involve loss of consciousness.

Here are three types of Bioguard Mouth guards

This is Bioguard I for athletes under 18 years and /or for these sports: acrobatics, gymnastics, basketball, handball, racquetball, skateboarding, skiing, skydiving, squash, volleyball and water polo.
This is Bioguard II for athletes under 18 and or these sports: field hockey, football, lacrosse, shot putting, soccer, wrestling and weight lifting.
This is Bioguard III for athletes over 18 and/or the following sports: boxing, ice hockey, martial arts, roller hockey and rugby.

 
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