By Dr. Nolan E. Cordon
Getting our children to wear a mouth guard during physical activities can be challenging to a parent. Most often, we think of mouth guards for “contact” sports such as football, boxing or hockey. However, there is incidental contact in many other activities such as biking, baseball, softball, basketball, skateboarding and soccer that also can lead to trauma to your teeth, jaw joints, tongue and lips. One of the most severe dental trauma cases I have personally seen occurred in a scooter accident. Unfortunately, dental injuries can be painful, permanent and costly to repair. The good news is that many mouth injuries can be avoided by proper use of a mouth guard. The American Dental Association has estimated that mouth guards prevent approximately 200,000 injuries in high school and
collegiate sports alone.
When considering types of mouth guards, remember that unless the mouth guard is comfortable and well fitted, it is much less likely to be worn. Different types of mouth guards include “boil and bite” mouth guards that are available at most sporting goods stores and custom mouth guards that can be fabricated by your family dentist. I recommend talking with your family dentist to discuss the type of mouth guard that will work best in your situation.
Dr. Nolan E. Cordon is a specialist in Orthodontics for children, teens and adults and has been providing care for patients in the Desert Ridge area since 1999.
