The sports guard protects your teeth from injury and it’s recommended to wear them while engaging in any type of sports and adventure activity.
Sports guards are essential and should be worn by anyone who engages in sports activities such as wrestling, squash, racquetball, hockey, boxing, football, soccer, lacrosse, and baseball. Dental injuries can occur during gymnastics, skateboarding and even biking. Professional and amateur athletes, adults, and children should wear sports guards when participating or competing.
Sports guards and mouth guards have different purpose. Mouth guards are usually worn at night for preventing tooth damage from grinding and bruxing and for maintaining tooth position after the orthodontic procedure. The mouth guards are hard plastic for protecting against clenching and grinding. Sports guards are made of thicker and durable material for preventing injury and are usually flexible.
Inexpensive sports guards can be purchased from the sporting goods stores but have many drawbacks. These general one-size-fits-all devices do not offer the same level of protection as custom-made by a dentist near you. The guards are designed in dental office and fabricated in dental lab so that they offer most protection and comfort.
When your sports guard is not in use, it should be kept safely in its storage case. Wash it with cool water and soap after each use. Soak the guards in mouthwash to help them stay fresh.
Before the sports guard was invented, people had no choice. If the teeth were damaged in an injury, people needed teeth replacement with help of implants or dental bridges. There have been several cases of people losing their teeth because of sports injury.
All the athletes must invest in a good quality sports guard. A single sports injury can cause problems for the rest of your life.