Playing Sports is an important part of American life. Unfortunately, an estimated five million teeth are knocked out every year in sports injuries with the majority of them being lost by children.
Many people understandably rely on so-called “boil and bite” mouthguards promoted by sporting goods stores. These mouthguards are prepared by heating the template guard (usually in hot water) and then having the athlete bite into the template. However, research has shown that these simplistic implements provide little, if any protection, and dental researchers have advised that those currently available “provide a false sense of protection” and should not be promoted by dentists. 1
Boil and bite mouthguards also fall short from providing good protection because many don’t adequately cover all of the teeth in the rear of your mouth. Further, because of their poor fit may cause them to slip out, cause gagging or trouble breathing, athletes may refuse to wear such mouthguards or alter them.
On the contrary, custom prepared mouthguards have been shown to decrease the risk of sports injuries by up to 99%. A custom mouth guard will be made specifically for your needs, such as dental trauma during athletic competition. Research also suggests that a custom sports mouthguard may also provide some protection against concussions. Custom sports mouthguards also interfere the least with speaking, and studies have shown that they have little effect on the athlete’s ability to breathe, providing real competitive advantages to athletes. A custom athletic mouthguard fitted by your dentist is the highest quality and does the best job at protecting your teeth and mouth.
For these reasons, Dr. Laskis recommend using a custom-prepared laboratory generated mouthguard specifically designed for sports protection. Dr. Laskis uses PlaySafe® mouthguards which are custom fabricated by Glidewell Labs, a premier United States dental laboratory. These mouthguards are tailor made for the type of sport played, and can be personalized with colors and designs.
More information about the Playsafe mouthguards is available on Glidewell’s website here.
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