Spring Sports Safety: Custom Mouth Guards

Spring is officially here! And with the new season comes blooming flowers, warmer weather and of course, spring sports! As your children get ready to head outdoors, be sure to schedule an appointment with Adelberg Montalvan Pediatric Dental for a custom fit mouth guard!

Just like you wouldn’t let your child go up to bat without a helmet or run onto the field without shin guards, mouth guards are critical for protecting your child’s smile!

Here’s how spring sports can hurt your child’s teeth:

Baseball and Softball — One of the biggest threats to the mouth is the ball itself. The impact of a ball can knock out or chip a tooth, or in other cases, misalign a jaw!

Lacrosse — The good thing here is that both girls and boys lacrosse requires the use of a mouth guard to even be allowed to play! But even during a friendly game of lacrosse catch on the weekend, one should not skip the mouth guard. Much like the above, an accidental ball to the mouth is always a possibility.

Soccer — Close plays can lead to elbows or knees to the face as well as falls to the ground! If the chin or mouth is hit in the wrong way, a mouth guard can help protect chipped teeth or cuts.

Why are custom fit mouth guards the best choice?

Well, let’s face it — any mouth guard is better than NO mouth guard, but custom mouth guards truly work best. Here’s why!

Consider this, if a helmet is too loose on your child’s head, it’s not really offering the protection it should — if anything it is decreasing it’s effectiveness! Store bought, generic guards function in a similar way. With custom fit mouth guards from Adelberg Montalvan, each guard we create is done off of a mold of your child’s mouth. That means they are completely unique to their owner. By fitting your child’s mouth perfectly, they offer optimal protection (even for those with braces!).

When a mouth guard is unique to an athlete’s mouth, it offers optimal comfort. The more comfortable something is, the more likely your child will be to wear it! And since all sports require some level of communication, a comfortable, proper fitting guard won’t restrict speech.

To help make custom fit mouth guards more accessible, we offer a dedicated Mouth Guard Center at each of our locations! We can fit your child with a custom guard, in any color or design and the bonus is you don’t need to be a patient — so be sure to share with your child’s teammates!

Have we convinced you yet? Feel free to give any of our three Long Island locations a call, we’d be happy to answer any further questions!

National Facial Protection Month

This month is National Facial Protection Month and we’re here to remind you just how important it is to wear a mouthguard during sports. 

 
Did you know an athlete is 60 times more likely to suffer harm to the teeth if they are not wearing a mouthguard? And that a mouthguard should be worn during all sports - not just those that are high collision or contact.

 

Help your children protect their teeth and faces from injury with these tips!
 

Wear a mouthguard. There are three types of mouthguards available: custom made, boil and bite, and stock guards. Of course any mouthguard is better than NO mouthguard, but we do recommend receiving a custom made one from us. These provide optimum protection as they are made uniquely for your child’s mouth.

Wear a helmet. Helmets are key in helping to prevent serious damage to the head. When choosing a helmet, it’s important to select one specific to the activity at hand. For example, football helmets are made to absorb multiple impacts, skate boarding helmets are designed to absorb high-speed impacts, etc.
 

Wear protective gear. This includes any necessary eyewear, face shields, and sport specific gear like shin guards for soccer, jockstrap, knee/elbow/shoulder pads, gloves, etc. Protective gear is important to help maintain the overall safety of an athlete participating in a certain sport. 

 
If you’re looking for a mouthguard for your child, look no further. At Adelberg Montalvan Pediatric Dental, we offer our very own mouthguard centers so your athlete can receive a custom fit mouth guard. Please come by any of our 3 locations before your child’s next game to be sure a mouthguard is included as part of their uniform!

Spring Sports: The Importance of a Mouthguard

 www.adelbergpediatricdental.com

Spring sports are upon us and while these sports are important for building your child’s confidence, team working skills, and physical endurance, there is also an inherent risk of injury. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, about 10-39% of childhood dental injuries are sports related.

Although we can never completely remove all risk of dental injury from playing sports, most of these injuries could have been easily prevented had the athlete been wearing a mouthguard:

Fractured Tooth
Enamel and dentin are both protectors of the inner living tooth tissue also known as the pulp. In the event of a serious tooth factor, both the dentin and the pulp tissue would be exposed, calling for an immediate visit to the dentist. To prevent the tooth from completely falling out, the dentist may splint the loose tooth by bonding it to adjacent teeth.

A minor fracture involves chipping of the enamel only. Your child may feel sharp or rough tooth edges irritating the cheek and tongue. Generally, the only thing that the tooth would need is a filling or a cap to protect the pulp from any exposure.

Lost Teeth
Commonly, the upper front adult teeth run the highest risk of being knocked out. In this case, retrieve the lost teeth, keep them moist, and replace them into their sockets as soon as possible. Time is precious, teeth re-implanted within an hour of the incident often reattach to their teeth sockets.

Teeth Displacement
Instead of a tooth being completely knocked out of its sockets, it’s simply displaced. The tooth may be pulled out a bit to appear longer or pushed in to appear shorter. A displaced tooth can be twisted, turned, but never leaves the mouth. The sooner your child sees a dentist the easier it will be to bring it back into proper alignment, whether through splitting or orthodontic brackets and wires.

There’s no need to risk it, any mouth guard is better than NO mouth guard. But when trying to choose which one to go with, how do you decide which is best for your child? Check out our blog “Mouth Guard or No Mouth Guard” to determine the best type of mouthguard for your child to keep their teeth safe from injury. Feel free to discuss your options with us today!

Mouth Guard or No Mouth Guard: Is That Even a Question?!

Adelberg Montalvan Pediatric Dental and Orthodontics

www.adelbergpediatricdental.com 

Playing sports is a great activity for kids; the only downside is the risk of dental injury. In fact, more than half of the seven million sports and recreation-related injuries that occur each year are sustained by youth between ages 5 and 24 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

There’s no need to risk it, any mouth guard is better than NO mouth guard. But when trying to choose which one to go with, how do you decide which is best for your child?

The Academy of Sports Dentistry requires a mouth guard have the following properties and considerations:

1. Proper fit – a fit that is retentive and not dislodged on impact
2. Adequate thickness – in all areas to provide for the reduction of impact forces
3. Speech considerations – based on the demands of the playing status of the athlete
4. FDA approved material

Before your child's next soccer, basketball, baseball game, etc., make sure a mouth guard is included as part of their uniform. There are three main types of mouth guards that can suit your child: custom made, boil and bite/self fit, and stock mouth guards. Read below for additional information on each:

Custom made:

• Expensive, individually designed and made by your dentist and dental labs. These mouth guards have the most comfortable, perfect fit which provides optimum protection and improved performance. The fit and size are measured by the dentist and the athlete’s medical history, demographic factors, and type of sport are all also taken into account. 

Boil and Bite / Self fit:

• Inexpensive, store bought, and becomes pliable when heated. Athletes will create a custom fit by biting down into the warm plastic after boiling the mouth guard in water. In order to make these mouth guards pliable, they are made with softer material compared to other mouth guards. For this reason they often aren’t as reliable or resilient. 

Stock mouth guards:

• Very inexpensive, store bought, and ready to wear. Unfortunately, these are so poor fitting that they often fall out when the athlete opens their mouth to speak or breathe.  Not to mention will dislodge on impact.

Whichever type you choose, be sure it is resilient, comfortable, fits properly, and does not restrict breathing or your child’s speech. Feel free to discuss your options with us today!