Athletic Mouth Guards
What is a mouth guard?
A mouth guard is a dental appliance designed to fit over your teeth in order to protect your smile from damage. An athletic mouth guard, sometimes called a sports guard, is specially made to prevent dental injury during athletic activities. A sports mouthguard is only effective it if it well fitted and worn consistently.
There are three main kinds of mouth guards available:
- Stock mouth guards — These come preformed and ready to wear – available for purchase at sports shops and pharmacies. They are convenient and inexpensive, but you cannot adjust the fit well and for this reason they offer in minimal protection.
- Boil-and-bite mouth guards — This kind of mouth guard is made from thermoplastic material. You can place it in hot water to soften it, then put it in the mouth to shape it around the teeth for a more customized fit.
- Custom-made mouth guards — This type of mouth guard provides the best possible protection for your smile. Our dentist will create your custom-fitted mouth guard from moulds ( impressions) of your mouth, so you know it will fit comfortably and effectively.
Do I need a mouth guard?
Dr Carolyn Langrell-Read recommends mouth guards for any patient who participates in athletic activities. This is especially important for children, teenagers, and young adults who are involved in contact sports.
Wearing a custom-made mouth guard can protect you or your smile from injuries like knocked-out teeth, broken teeth, and injury to the cheeks and tongue. The customized laminated mouth-guards have even been shown to reduce jaw fracture and concussion type injuries as they reduce, absorb, and dissipate the impact of injury providing protection for not only the teeth but other facial structures and the brain as well.
To learn more about getting a mouth guard in Auckland, we encourage you to contact us today at Newmarket Family Dental Care
Emergency Dentistry
In the unfortunate event that you do sustain a dental injury, be sure to contact Dr Langrell- Read to assess the mouth and teeth for possible injury. It is critical that the injury is documented (including photographic and x-ray assessment of the injury) and the appropriate report lodged with Accident Compensation Corporation as soon as possible after the injury occurs.
In case of emergency contact Dr Langrel-Read on 021 488 251. Be sure to retain the tooth / portion of tooth that has been damaged and seek professional advice within 30 minutes – time is the critical factor in the long term survival of teeth following dental injury. This is particularly important when the dental injury may seem insignificant in the light of other more serious injuries sustained at the time - in major injury cases the dental injury can be overlooked altogether. The dental injuries may not be obvious to the untrained eye. In some cases the results of an impact to the teeth may not become evident for many years following the initial injury. It is a hard to justify your claim if the appropriate documentation has not been lodged with Accident Compensation at the time of injury. Only a dentist can lodge the dental assessment report to Accidental Compensation - the school dental system and medical staff are not trained to provide appropriate assessment and documentation for accident related injuries.