Mouth Guards

How can mouth guards protect my smile?

The majority of sporting organizations now require participants to routinely wear mouth guards. Though mouth guards are primarily designed to protect the teeth, they can also vastly reduce the degree of force transmitted from a trauma impact point (jaw) to the central nervous system (base of the brain). 

In this way, mouth guards help minimize the risk of traumatic brain injury, which is especially important for younger children.

Mouth guards also reduce the prevalence of the following injuries:

What type of mouth guard should I purchase?

• Stock Mouth Guards

  Can be bought directly off the shelf and immediately fitted into your mouth. The fit is universal (one-size-fits-all), meaning that that the mouth guard doesn’t adjust. Stock mouth guards are very cheap, easy to fit, and quick to locate at sporting goods stores.

  It provides minimal protection, obstructs proper breathing and speaking, and tends to be uncomfortable.

• Boil-and-Bite Mouth Guards

  Are usually made from thermoplastic and are easily located at most sporting goods stores. First, the thermoplastic must be immersed in hot water to make it pliable, and then it must be pressed on the teeth to create a custom mold.

  Boil-and-bite mouth guards are slightly more expensive than stock mouth guards, but tend to offer more protection, feel more comfortable in the mouth, and allow for easy speech production and breathing.

• Customized Mouth Guards

  Offer the greatest degree of protection, and are custom-made by the dentist.

  First, the dentist makes an impression of the teeth using special material, and then the mouth guard is constructed over the mold.

  Customized mouth guards are more expensive and take longer to fit, but are more comfortable, orthodontically correct, and fully approved by the dentist.