Mouth Guards Are Important Piece of Safety Equipment

What Youth Sports Have The Most Mouth Injuries?

If you answered football or hockey, you would be wrong! Because the use of mouth guards in youth and high school football, lacrosse, and ice hockey has been mandatory since the early 1970's, these sports have experienced a dramatic decline in the number of dental and jaw injuries. Instead, published reports show that the majority of mouth injuries occur in such popular youth sports as baseball, basketball, soccer, field hockey, softball and gymnastics, which lag far behind in injury protection. Recent studies also report that oral and facial injuries to female athletes exceed those in males. According to a 1997 study published in the Journal of Pediatric Dentistry, roughly three times as many mouth injuries occur on the basketball court as on the football field. Most of these injuries could have been prevented with the simple use of a mouth guard.

Are Mouth Injuries Serious?

You bet they are. Injuries to the mouth and jaw - broken, cracked and lost teeth, jaw and joint fractures - are painful and hard to treat:

• Jaw and joint injuries often require surgery and general anesthesia, which requires hospitalization and wiring the jaw shut for 30 days to let the injury heal.

• A lost tooth must be re-implanted or false teeth made and fitted. Although easier to treat than a broken or fractured jaw, lost teeth are just as painful.

There are 3 main types of mouth guards:

1. Stock. The least expensive, stock type mouth guards cost about $2.00 and come in three sizes: small, medium and large. You get what you pay for in terms of fit. Some users complain that they are too wide in the back, making it hard to breath or talk.

2. Boil and Bite. A semi-custom fit can be made using a "boil and bite" model mouth guard. Hot water is used to soften the plastic and your child then bites into the guard, molding it to his or her teeth. This type of mouth guard sells for between $5 and $15 and offers very good protection.

3. Custom. A dentist makes the best fitting mouth guards in a dental office. Not surprisingly, this kind of mouth guard is the most expensive of the three, costing between $35 and $65. Custom mouth guards are the best option if your child plays a number of sports each year or plays sports with continuous activity, like basketball or soccer.

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