A mouthguard is a device used to protect our teeth from grinding or clenching while we sleep or to prevent oral injuries while we play sports. Let's take a look at how mouthguards help protect our teeth.
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| A Mouth Guard |
How Mouthguards Protect Our Teeth?
The mouth guard is the essential accessory of a sportsperson. Professional or beginner, everyone has them. It makes sure that your teeth don't smash together when you play a contact sport; when you receive a blow, your jaw clicks, and your teeth clash.
How to choose the right mouth guard?
A mouth guard is not expensive. However, know that an effective mouth guard is a mouth guard that molds your teeth. To do this, you must mold it as indicated in the instructions: Plunge the mouth guard in boil water for 1 minute, then take it out, put it on, and bite.
Some custom mouth guards have a strap on the front. They are designed to be linked to your football or hockey helmet. Others have a hard plastic "frame" around the outside, providing extra protection. Both types are unsuitable for boxing or martial arts sparring. Instead, get one that's as smooth as possible so the inside of your lips doesn't get cut. Whatever the sports department of the store where you will look at the mouth guards.
The mouth guard can jump out of your mouth (often when the blow comes while you are exhausted trying to catch your breath). In this case, there are three possibilities:
- Raise the guard to avoid taking too much of a blow to the face.
- Grit your teeth a little more during your meetings.
- Review the molding of your mouthguard.
How to make a tooth guard?
Your custom mouthguard should be made of a gel-like plastic that becomes soft and flexible when you put it in boiling water for 10 or 15 seconds.
If you don't mold the mouthpiece, it won't stay in place when you open your jaws, and it will be uncomfortable. After molding, you can use a pair of scissors to cut to fit.
For the daily maintenance of the mouth guard, it is advisable to pass it often in water (even several times by training if necessary). Occasionally, it may also be required to scrub it with your toothbrush and toothpaste.
If you have dental braces, the custom mouth guard is handy! Without it, you will constantly open the inside of your mouth (because the rings are sharp). But you can also hurt yourself during contact with another person or an object while practicing other sports activities such as basketball, soccer, squash, gymnastics, rolling, and taekwondo.
Although the number of mouth injuries sustained during sporting activity is small, the cost of these injuries is particularly high, significantly if the teeth are damaged.
How does the mouth guard work?
The mouth guard also acts as a barrier between the teeth and the soft tissues in and around the mouth. Numerous studies indicate that it helps prevent chipping or breaking of teeth and protects against cuts to the lips, gums, and other soft tissues in the oral region.
Types of Mouthguards
There are three main types of sports mouthguards:
- The Commercial Mouth guard: It's ready to wear; slip the device into your mouth. You can buy it in a sports store or on the Internet.
- The Boil and Bite Mouth guard: It is made of flexible materials under normal conditions and becomes very malleable when heated. Immerse the mouth guard in boiling water and wait for it to soften to put it in the mouth and bite it down so that it molds to the shape of the mouth and fits around the teeth. It can be purchased in a sports store or on the Internet, like the commercial mouth guard.
- The Practice Mouth guard: The dentist makes an exterior design of your teeth and molds the material of the mouth guard onto it, which ensures a perfect and comfortable fit.
The choice of mouth guard
• The commercial mouth guard is generally less expensive. It offers some protection but has no grip on the teeth, so it doesn't stay in place unless you constantly bite it.
• The boil and bite mouth guard fits better around the teeth and stays in place well. However, when you hot-bite into the device to shape it, you reduce its thickness, making it less effective.
• The custom mouth guard is the most expensive, but it is the one that fits the best, thus offering increased protection and comfort.
Reduce risk
- Take care of your mouth guard
- Keep it clean.
- Regularly check the wear of your mouth guard.
Conclusion:
Mouthguards are a wise investment because they protect against injuries that can lead to much greater costs in the long run - not just in money, but in time and pain.
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