Figures from the American Dental Association (ADA) demonstrate that a child wearing a mouthguard for sports activities will have 60 times the protection against injuries to their teeth and jaw and cuts to the lip, tongue or face, when compared to a child not wearing one.¹
For parents, the safety of their child is paramount, so why is it that ADA figures also highlight, that only one in three children actually wears a sports mouthguard?²
The answer may lie in the fact that children often find an ‘off the shelf’ ‘boil and bite’ mouthguard uncomfortable, not to mention ‘un-cool’ to wear. Dental Prosthetist, Diane Tozer, who runs Westside Dentistry, a leading supplier of custom made mouthguards and dentures in Brisbane, highlights the fact that this type of mouthguard can never fit as well, or provide as much protection for the wearer as a custom made one.
Sports accidents are one of the most common causes of dental injuries, with published figures showing that Victoria’s Hospitals Emergency Departments treated in excess of 2000 people in the period 2002-2004 while many more went directly to their own Dentist for emergency treatment.
How To Protect Your Child
There is a great deal of published scientific literature, demonstrating two things very clearly:
- That mouthguards offer considerable protection against the type of dental injuries that can occur in sport.
- That custom-made mouthguards offer greater protection than the over-the-counter, ‘boil-and-bite’ type that can be uncomfortable and ineffective and give a false sense of security.
Diane Tozer says that at Westside Dentistry, each custom-made mouthguard, is not only comfortable and well fitting but allows your child to speak clearly with unrestricted breathing – and it will not shift or fall out. They are also durable, tear-resistant, easy-to-clean, and, if your child wears orthodontic braces, these can be accommodated too.
She goes on to point out, that – ‘cool features like having a mouthguard made in the team or school colours or the bright fluorescent ones so popular with top sports people, combined with practical features like adding a name and phone number all help to make our mouthguards the ones that kids will want to wear.
Parents who want to give their child the best possible protection, find that our affordable prices make them an attractive proposition, especially if they are not covered by Private Healthcare’ – so to find out more, and to arrange an appointment, call Westside Dentistry Brisbane now on 07 3278 0580.
The most important thing to remember is that wearing a mouthguard makes your child 60 times less likely to pick up a serious dental injury resulting in lost teeth, jaw damage and soft tissue injury to the lips and tongue.
So do not let your child end up having an accident like, (for example), Basketball player for Perth Wildcats, Damien Martin who suffered a broken jaw and lost three teeth when hit in the mouth by another player’s elbow – it is not worth the risk! An over-the counter product may be cheaper at the outset, but if your child will not wear it, you have wasted your money and your child risks serious injury playing the sport that he or she loves.
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