Among all the dental injuries we treat in children, it is estimated that over 25% are sports-related, and the majority of these involve the top front teeth.
Besides the immediate trauma, sports-related injuries can result in time lost from school and work, and substantial cost — up to $20,000 over a lifetime to treat a missing permanent tooth. Yet there’s a simple and relatively inexpensive way to reduce the chance of dental injury in children: a properly fitted, comfortable mouthguard to wear while playing sports exists.
You wouldn’t let your child play football without a helmet and protective padding, right? Yet it might surprise you to know that kids playing basketball are 15 times more likely to sustain injuries to the mouth or face than football players! Mandatory mouthguards are one reason for that: more American kids wear mouth protection for football than any other sport, resulting in a dramatic drop in injuries.
Mouthguards are required in only four school-based sports: football, ice hockey, lacrosse and field hockey. Basketball and baseball, however, are associated with the largest number of dental injuries. Other sports for which the American Dental Association (ADA) recommends wearing a mouthguard include bicycling, soccer, skateboarding, wrestling and volleyball. Do mouthguards work? The ADA estimates that athletes who don’t wear mouthguards are 60 times more likely to suffer dental injury than those who do.
The best mouthguard for your child is the one he or she actually wears, both at practice and on game day. There are several different types of mouthguards on the market, which generally fall into three categories:
At the present time, when top-quality sports equipment for kids can run in the hundreds of dollars, it makes more sense than ever to invest in the proven protection of a professionally made, custom-fitted mouthguard.
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3003 English Creek Avenue
Egg Harbor, NJ 08234
Phone: (609) 484-5996
Fax: (609) 484-1715