Custom-fitting sports guard for everyone engaging in contact sports!

Dr. Gordon Tam • August 22, 2019

Are you protecting your teeth with a custom-fitting sports guard?

The professional sports players are wearing protective device in their mouths during games. That is the custom-fitting sports guard. It spells the importance of wearing a sports guard to protect your precious teeth. If the professionals are wearing it, we should be wearing it too.

Teeth are vital for anyone at any age. Teeth allow us to eat and chew, speak properly and smile with confidence. At any point of time, we need to pay attention to maintain and protect them, not to mention exposing our teeth to potential risks during sports.

What is a sports guard?

A sports guard is a piece of appliance that people wear to protect their teeth, lips and tongue from getting injured or damaged through contact sports impacts or accidents or inter arch stress during their activities. The advantage of wearing a sports guard during any physical activity or contact sports also buys you a peace of mind to perform better without worrying on sustaining oral injuries.

There are different types of sports guards available in the market, some are sold over-the-counters, but we strongly encourage you to get the customised sports guard that are specially designed for any individuals.

Who needs a sports guard?

According to the studies, more than 200,000 injuries are prevented annually in the United States by the use of sports guards. However, it is also estimated that more than 5 million teeth are lost through sports activities every year in the United States.

So it is strongly advised for anyone who is active in sports to get one!

Do kids need to wear sports guard?

Yes. It is recommended for anyone who is engaged in contact sports to get a custom-fitting sports guard to protect their teeth intact during any accidents or impacts on the face.

It is an awesome feeling to have a great passion for active sports such as rugby, basketball, soccer, and other contact sports like Taekwondo, Judo and wrestling. To be able to excel in these contact sports, many would do their best to chase the balls to score a goal and all out with their punches with the fists.

Passion is cultivated from young. It is a common sight to see parents bringing their children to the field on weekends for rugby, soccer and basketball. It is also a familiar sight to see parents panicking over their children sustaining inter-arch or external facial injuries.

Not only for the children, for anyone actively engaging in sports, particularly contact sports, we strongly advise you to get your teeth protected by a sports guard. The custom-fitted sports guard helps to minimise or cushion the impact of facial injuries especially pertaining to the mouth area.

But… as kids are growing and still changing their baby teeth to adult teeth, they tend to outgrow the sports guard. Once they feel that the sports guard is not fitting well, it is time to change. More frequent replacements are required for kids than adults.

However this investment is worth it. It’s a small price to pay compared to risking their adult teeth getting damaged/injured during impact.

A good Customized Fitting Sports Guard

A good customized sports guard is designed to absorb impact from internal forces from inter arch stress through weight lifting to external forces from contact sports.

The more fitting the sports guard, the better protection it will provide.

The function and protection of the customized sports guard is from outside in.

  • Constructed multi layers (three-layered)
  • Softer inside, harder shell
  • Comfortable to wear with softer lining within (Base layer flexible)
  • Provide good protection with a harder external shell to absorb any impacts (Reinforcement layer, Hard)
  • Cover layer (Outer shell, flexible and comfortable)

Not all sports guards provide adequate protection!

In the market, there is a ‘boil-and-bite’ (single layer) where the guard is soften in hot water. The user has to bite on it to get an impression of the teeth. It is made of thermoplastic material, it is difficult to make any adjustment and allow only one-time fitting. This type of guard is bulky, making talking and even breathing difficult. It provides little protection to the designated purpose of a sports guard.

  • Single layer
  • Bite on soften material to get an impression of the teeth
  • Made of thermoplastic material
  • Difficult to make any adjustment
  • Only allow one-time fitting
  • Bulky, making talking and even breathing difficult
  • Provide little or no protection
  • Provide false sense of protection
  • Ill-fitting, affects athletes’ performances
Get your custom-fitting sports guard with us now

While we are doing our part to help you fix your dental issues, this is one thing that you can help yourself by protecting your teeth.

In Smile Design Dental Practice, we often fabricate custom-fitting sports guards for kids as well as active adults. We will first take an impression of your upper and lower jaw, then sent to the dental laboratory to produce. There will be a fitting session to make sure that the sports guard fits you.

You can choose from a wide range of colors and you can individualize your own sports guard with your name incorporated in it. Parents no longer get confused over mixing up with the kids’ sports guards anymore.

Contact us now to find out more about how to protect your teeth during contact sports!

For more information and consultation, please contact Smile Design Dental Practice at +65 6463 8588.

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