Protecting your teeth when you play sports is always important. One out of every three (31%) parents say their child has orthodontic treatment or braces while playing an organized sport. If you wear braces, a guard can protect your mouth and teeth from serious injury and keep your braces from getting damaged.
What type of mouth guard should you use?
Three Types of Mouth Guards
Off-the-Shelf Guards
Pre-formed mouth guards may not fit as accurately as a much more expensive custom appliance made by a dentist. But braces move the teeth (that's the whole point, right?) and a custom-made guard will not fit for very long.
Off-the-shelf guards are often more than enough to provide enough protection for many sports and leisure activities; the brackets attached to the teeth will not be knocked loose or traumatized. Off-the-shelf guards are made of rubber or polyvinyl materials.
Semi-custom Mouth Guards
These mouth guards can be soaked in warm or hot water so that they change shape and therefore can be adapted to a person's mouth. Sometimes called "boil-and-bite" mouth guards, these appliances are made of thermoplastic or acrylic gel materials and are a little more expensive than off-the shelf type.
Someone with braces would probably NOT want to use this type of mouth guard at all. The soft plastic cools around the braces and wires; it can then be difficult to remove and may rip brackets loose or distort wires.
Custom-made Mouth Guards
Custom-made mouth guards are the most expensive because a denstist creates a custom mold of the teeth and a guard is then cast from that mold.
With such a tight fit, such mouth guards are generally not recommended for people with braces because they don't allow the teeth to move. The mouth guard does not easily fit over the brackets and wires attached to the teeth. And soon the teeth will move and the guard will no longer fit correctly.
Conclusion
Off-the-shelf mouth guards are both the most affordable and useful if you wear braces. If you want any information on sports mouth guards, please call our office at 909-613-9434. And remember to play safe!
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