School is almost back in session in Plano, TX. At this time students, parents, teachers and coaches are making efforts to be prepared for the first semester of the school year. Preseason practices for contact sports will be kicking off ahead of the fall season. Students are seeking to find the latest trending wear and equipment for their desired sport. As a result, parents along with some students have questions concerning mouthguards and the level of protection they will offer the students involved in contact sports. Evidence continuously suggests the major benefits of wearing mouthguards for protection. It is encouraged that students wear mouthguards during practice times and scheduled games.
Why Mouthguards Should Be Worn
It is important to ensure necessary safety measures are taken when students, regardless of age, are to participate in sports. If specific safety measures are not taken into account, the child will be prone to experiencing some sort of injury. Injuries to the mouth can be prevented or significantly reduced when students where mouthguards. When a student athlete isn’t wearing protection for the mouth, he or she is 70 times more likely to acquire an injury to the mouth, as a result.
The added cushion given by mouthguards provide trauma relief for areas of the facial area such as: the tongue, lips, teeth and jaws. Students athletes who don’t wear a mouthguard are more susceptible to chipped teeth, broken teeth, jaw fractures and teeth being knocked out on impact.
Wearing a Mouthguard with Braces
For those that wear braces, utilizing a mouthguard will help create a barrier against the braces and the bare skin of the inside of mouth. Due to the contact made between the mouth’s soft tissue and the braces, most injuries involving the mouth can be made worse when those wearing braces choose not to wear a mouthguard. The wearing of a mouthguard offers protection from lacerations of the soft tissue, such as bleeding cuts and other injuries. The mouthguard will also provide a barrier of protection between braces and the connection of cheeks and lips.
Providing Protection for Young Athletes
The American Dental Association has noted that over half of the 7 million injuries acquired in relation to sports, are attained by young children reaching all the way to the age of five. Additionally, it has been predicted by the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation that sporting events involving the youth will be the culprit for over three million teeth being knocked out each year. Doctors suggest that any child with permanent teeth growing or present in the mouth should be wearing a mouthguard during contact sports. Permanent teeth usually begin to grow in children around the ages of six and seven. At this age kids are often having their first visit to the orthodontist. Even then, mouthguards can be encouraged to be worn at an earlier age, depending on the sport or activity the child is participating in.
Mouthguards: An Important Equipment Component
Mouthguards are very inexpensive and are one the most crucial items of equipment students should be seeking to purchase. Though cleats, a good helmet and hockey stick may be the main focus by students, the mouthguard should be held with high regards. Being able to put on a magnificent smile after winning an MVP award will be much appreciated and an act not taken for granted by the student who didn’t get teeth knocked out this year.