Weston Dental Office Offers Tips on How to Choose a Sports Guard

Our Weston Dental Office Offers These Tips on How to Choose a Sports Guard

Fall means back-to-school which for a lot of kids means back-to-sports. When it comes to sports guards contact sports like football, hockey, basketball and soccer are the ones you may think of first but your mouth and teeth are still at risk with non-contact activities like skate boarding, roller skating and horseback riding. A properly fitted sports guard is the first line of defense for both teeth and gums if your mouth is ever struck. It is essential to a sports guards’ effectiveness that they are professionally fitted. Sports guard can protect against teeth being misaligned, chipped, pulled out or forced down into the gum, wherever there is a possibility of a fall there is a possibility of damaging your mouth.

3 Types of Sports Guards

A sports guard should fit your mouth, not interfere with breathing and not interfere with speaking. Here are three types of guards available:

1. Boil and Bite. These guards are boiled in water to make the material malleable.  The user then bites down on the guard to give it some measure of customization.  These guards are also widely available at sporting goods stores and department stores. They offer better fit and protection than stock guards but can impair breathing. They also have a shorter service life than a stock guard.
2. Stock sports guards. These are the least expensive of the guards and are widely available. They have curved troughs made of plastic and are commonly found attached to "starter" football helmets for kids. They come in small, medium and large and offer no customization. They often don’t fit well and can obstruct breathing and fall out when the mouth is opened.
3. Custom Fit. These guards are fabricated by your dentist from a full mouth impression. Custom fit guards offer the greatest protection to teeth and jaw, are without question the most comfortable to wear, can accommodate braces and do not interfere with breathing or speaking. They are also the most durable of the three classes of guards.

At our Weston dental practice we offer a full line of family dental services including custom sports guards for kids and adults. If you or your children can use a sports guard to better protect your mouth give us a call today and set up an appointment.