How to protect your child’s smile in contact sports

It’s that time of year again… children are back at school, and a new season of Lancashire sports leagues has started! Children participating in sports either for fun or competition fill up nearly every pitch in the county on the weekends, and you’re probably wondering about how to make sure your child is ready for the season!

And we’ve got a great way to help you protect your children’s smiles when they play sport with our professionally fitted mouthguards!

Which sports need a mouthguard?

To make sure your children are properly protected, it helps to know exactly what sports are likely going to require a mouthguard. Many sports leagues have a policy for minimum safety equipment, and a mouthguard is often an item required for play.

Typically, we recommend a mouthguard if your child plays any type of contact sport the most obvious is rugby, hockey, and even football. Children also benefit from having a mouthguard for sports like basketball, Taekwondo or other martial arts, lacrosse, wrestling, netball, cycling, gymnastics, cricket or boxing.

A good rule of thumb is to think, could my child get hit with something in the face? Or could my child suffer an impact of any kind to the head? If you answered ‘yes’ to either — your child will need a mouthguard.

Even outdoor activities like skating, skateboarding, and skiing are common causes of tooth chips and mouth injuries.

Why choose a custom mouthguard?

Parents should choose a professional mouthguard over the “boil and fit” trays for a number of reasons. The first is that the trays don’t fit every mouth and may not offer the best protection for teeth and gums — especially if not fitted properly.

Our experts know this better than anyone – we’ve often seen cases of emergency dental care resulting from sports-related incidents, where a child or adult was wearing a poorly fitted mouthguard and had an injury resulting in broken or damaged teeth. Cheap mouthguards rarely fit like they’re supposed to, and in some circumstances may do more harm than good because they don’t absorb the impact correctly.

At AP Smilecare, we always recommend professionally fitted mouthguards for a number of reasons!

Benefits

We’ve already touched on the first and most obvious benefit from a professionally fitted mouthguard – the level of protection for the teeth and gums. The mouthguards are made from an exact dental impression of the child’s teeth, ensuring a comfortable fit and better protection. A good mouthguard fits perfectly around the teeth and gums will still allow your child to talk, breathe, and play normally.

Effectiveness

As parents our first instinct is to protect our children and to help them protect their smiles — a well fitted mouthguard can offer the best protection for your child’s teeth, gums, and jaw. If you child wears a properly fitted mouthguard it can protect your child’s teeth from the rare but possible occurrence of being knocked out, broken, or displaced. In terms of helping with jaw injuries, a mouthguard can help protect your child’s jawbone by correctly absorbing the force during impact.

Affordability

Another benefit of a professionally fitted mouthguard is they only need to be replaced about once a year and cost £100. You may need to come in during the same year for another fitting if you child gets braces or has them removed.

This cost is nominal when compared to the potential spend of several thousand pounds to correct an injury if your child needs a tooth pulled and replaced, or repaired.

At AP Smilecare, we want to help you protect your child’s smile now and for years to come, and provide a range of dental services including emergency appointments, professionally fitted mouthguards, and routine check-ups!

If your child has started or will start playing sports we recommend you book them in for a consultation now or give us a call on 01254 297 000 to see how we can help!