Many of us may find ourselves in situations where our teeth need protecting. Whether we play a highly physical sport such as lacrosse, rugby, American football or boxing or indulge in activities such as mountain biking or gymnastics which can cause injuries to the mouth, our teeth can be put at risk. Some of us even have the tendency to grind our teeth during sleep. Protecting our teeth in these situations is vital to ensure that we don’t suffer the pain and inconvenience of tooth loss or chipping.
The best way to ensure our teeth our well protected is to wear a mouth guard. Minimal protection is offered by stock protectors available from sports stores. These ready-to-wear items are convenient and affordable but are not especially recommended by dentists because of the risks that they leave open. Boil and bite mouth guards fit your teeth better but still don’t offer comprehensive protection.
Dentists recommend that custom fitted mouth guards are worn in situations that could be dangerous to teeth. These products fit comfortably and offer increased protection. They are custom fitted to suit the individuality of your mouth. Your dentist will take moulds of your teeth and then a guard is constructed by a technician using the model as a guide. As such, custom fitted mouth guards are more expensive.
Mouth guards protect against and can limit the risk of loosing or breaking a tooth or suffering nerve damage or injuries to the tongue or gums. By using a mouth guard to avoid these afflictions patients can save themselves the time and money that restorative procedures will mean, not to mention minimising the pain involved if an accident to the mouth should occur. Mouth guards are widely available from City of Leeds dentists.
Tags: damaged tooth, dental injury, mouth guard
