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Mouth Guards to Protect Children's Teeth
Author: Steven Brazis
Mouthguards are essential
if your child is playing sports. Many
organized sports require them, but if they
are uncomfortable, children don't always
wear them. Parents should make sure they do.
The American Dental Association recommends a
mouth guard for participation in the
following sports: acrobatics, basketball,
boxing, discus throwing, field hockey,
football, gymnastics, handball, ice hockey,
lacrosse, martial arts, racquetball, rugby,
shot putting, skateboarding, skiing,
skydiving, soccer, squash, surfing,
volleyball, water polo, weightlifting and
wrestling.
Dentists estimate that between 13% and 39%
of dental injuries occur while playing
sports. In one year, 5 million teeth are
knocked out of the mouths of children and
teenagers during sports in the United
States. Safechild.net reports that 60% of
organized sports-related injuries occur
during practice rather than during games.
Front teeth are usually the first to be
injured. Approximately 80% of all dental
injuries affect one or more of the front
teeth. Sometimes the soft tissue is also
damaged as a result of biting the tongue or
cheek.
Approximately 200,000 oral injuries will be
prevented by mouth guard use in the next
year. Emergency rooms see over 150,000
bicycle related injuries each year.
If a single tooth is knocked out through an
accident sustained in sports activity, the
treatment will involve either
re-implantation with root canal therapy and
possibly crown or replacement therapy with a
bridge or implant when your child is old
enough. There may be an interim period where
your child will have to wear a cumbersome
removable temporary appliance until they are
old enough for a more permanent solution.
The expense of these treatments will often
be as much as 15-30 times the cost of a
custom fit mouthguard.
Mouth guards range from $5 (low-end bought
in store) to $150 (top of the line custom
fit). The ready-to-wear, U-shaped mouth
guards, made from rubber or vinyl materials,
can be bought without a prescription in many
sporting goods stores. However, they do not
evenly distribute the force of an impact due
to the looseness of a non-custom fit. Dr.
Brazis recommends that you avoid using these
type of mouth guards and suggests going to a
dentist to have a custom-fitted mouth guard
made to fit comfortably in your mouth and
offer better protection.
If having a mouth guard custom-fit by a
dentist isn't an option, then the best
alternative would be a "boil-and-bite" mouth
guard from the sporting goods stores. These
mouth guards are made from a type of plastic
that softens in boiling water. You place the
mouth guard in boiling water, and once the
plastic is soft, you put it into your mouth,
bite down on it, and mold the softened
plastic around your teeth using your fingers,
lips and tongue.
Be careful not to scald yourself when
removing the mouth guard from the boiling
water, and make sure that it isn't too hot
to put into your mouth. These mouth guards
can be reheated and refit if the fit isn't
comfortable after the first try.
Dentalnotes, a publication from the Academy
of General Dentistry, says mouth guards have
to be kept clean. Teeth should be brushed
and mouth guards cleaned before being placed
in the mouth and to preserve the guards,
clean them after use. And, of course, mouth
guards should not be shared.
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/dental-care-articles/mouth-guards-to-protect-childrens-teeth-410809.html
About the Author:
Steven J. Brazis has practiced family
dentistry for 35 years. Get more suggestions
on your children's dental health in his
online book: "Your Children's Teeth: A
Parent's Guide To Dental Health". Visit
http://www.yourchildrensteeth.com
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Author: Peterhutch
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