If you have a little athlete or a child who loves to play sports, you already know just how important safety equipment is. After all, tackles, stray balls, and the like happen all the time! While making sure your son or daughter has all the helmets, kneepads, and other gear they need, make sure they have a mouthguard as well! These little devices are often underused and overlooked, but they play a key role in protecting your child’s teeth, gums, and jaw. Read on as your Pelham pediatric dentist explains some of the most common injuries mouthguards can prevent and when your little athlete should be wearing one.
Common Dental Dangers on the Field
Sports mouthguards are well-known for minimizing the risk of a knocked-out tooth. However, that’s certainly not the only serious dental injury they can prevent! They can also help protect your son or daughter from:
- Cracked (fractured) teeth: Severe tooth fractures may require a dental crown or extraction. Even small cracks pose a threat: if they go undetected and untreated, they can lead to serious and painful dental infections.
- Fractured roots: Sports injuries can cause damage to any part of a tooth, including hidden areas like the roots. Damage to the roots is often not visible until the issue has become quite severe and will require root canal therapy to repair and protect the tooth.
- Tooth intrusion: Depending on the type of impact, a tooth can be driven back into the jawbone. Not only is this painful, but it can cause serious complications and permanent damage.
How Custom Mouthguards Protect Smiles
Despite being so small, sports mouthguards are crucial for minimizing your child’s risk of the injuries listed above as well as many more. These U-shaped trays are typically designed to fit over the top row of teeth, which are at the most risk of injury. They can shield the teeth from impact and redistribute the force to help keep them safe. In addition, they also act as a barrier that keeps the teeth from crashing into each other or the soft tissues.
While there are plenty of boil-and-bite mouthguards widely available for purchase, they offer minimal protection. Instead, your Pelham pediatric dentist can craft a mouthguard out of impressions of your little athlete’s smile for a precise fit. Not only does a custom fit ensure they’re as safe as possible, but it also makes them more comfortable to wear and unlikely to hinder breathing, which are common problems with store-bought mouthguards.
When to Wear a Mouthguard
According to recent studies, more than two-thirds of children don’t wear a mouthguard while playing organized sports because they’re not required to do so. However, the American Dental Association highly recommends that children and adults alike wear mouthguards while participating in a wide variety of activities that could potentially damage their teeth, such as:
- Football, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and wrestling
- Basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, and volleyball
- Acrobatics, boxing, gymnastics, and weightlifting
- Skateboarding, skiing, snowboarding, surfing, and water polo
Make sure your little athlete’s smile is safe while they stay active. Talk to your pediatric dentist today about getting a custom-made mouthguard to keep your child’s precious pearly whites happy, healthy, and intact!
About the Practice
At Simply Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, we’re proud to help the young smiles of Pelham, Nashua, and the surrounding communities stay happy and healthy as they grow. Alongside excellent preventive care during regular checkups, we can help keep your active little one’s smile safe with a custom-made mouthguard. We use high-quality materials to craft reliable, comfortable, and long-lasting devices that are easy and comfortable to wear. To learn more, we can be reached online or at (603) 635-1166.