How To Know When A Mouthguard Might Save Your Teeth
If you live an active lifestyle there’s a good possibility your teeth could benefit from a mouth guard, but even if you don’t there are times when protecting your teeth with these devices is a good idea. Mouth guards come in a variety of sizes and styles, and there’s sure to be one that fits your particular need. If your dentist has suggested that you may benefit from the use of a mouth guard and you’re wondering how you could benefit from them, read through the following list.
Those Living Active Lifestyles Often Need To Protect Your Teeth
If your idea of fun involves getting into the great outdoors or roughhousing with a group of friends in an intensely competitive sport, you may want to consider getting a mouth guard. Whether it’s racquetball with the team from the office or a rough and tumble game of basketball at the neighborhood court on the weekends, there’s a good chance your teeth may be in danger. Those participating in the following list, which is not all inclusive, may want to consider getting a mouth guard to protect their teeth.
- Lacrosse
- Football
- Baseball
- Water Skiing
- Skiing
- Softball
- Raquetball
- Field Hockey
- Rollerblading
This list is just the beginning, but it is indicative of active sports that can put your teeth in danger through misadventure or intense competition.
Wearing Mouth Guards Helps Prevent Permanent Facial Scarring
The defense they provide doesn’t stop with your teeth, they also protect your whole mouth area. When a facial impact occurs the teeth can be chipped, but the lip and other soft tissue can be damaged as a result. Wearing a mouth guard helps to protect against this kind of damage and the unsightly scars that come with it. A bite through the tongue or a split lip can take weeks to heal, and a mouth guard can prevent them.
Your Defense Against Jaw Bone Fractures
That hard clack of your teeth coming together when you experience an impact without wearing a mouth guard may have you worried about a chip or crack to a tooth, but your jaw could be in just as much danger. Mouth guards help to soften the impact and distribute the force from incidents like these and as a result there is a lower chance of your jaw breaking. Recovery from a broken jaw can take months for it to heal properly, avoid it by wearing a mouth guard.
These are just some of the reasons that you may want to wear a mouth guard, but they are also used for patients who are suffering from bruxism. Bruxism is the technical term for grinding your teeth, and children and adults alike can experience this condition through stress and anxiety, or it can happen with no perceptible reason at all. The experts at Smiling Kids Noblesville have been helping families in the Noblesville, IN area enjoy adulthood with healthy undamaged teeth. Call and make an appointment with Dr. Sam Bullard to protect your teeth today!
