Before you finish your holiday shopping, we have one more gift suggestion for you!
If a hockey or lacrosse stick is on the holiday wish list, we'd suggest that parents or grandparents tuck another gift in the package - a mouth guard. Dr. Godwin and the team at Bel Air Orthodontics recommend the use of a mouth guard for all contact-related sports to athletes of all ages. With various winter sports now in full swing and the holidays just around the corner, it is a great time to pick up a mouth guard for your favorite athlete. Great as a Christmas stocking stuffer or Hanukkah present, something as simple and affordable as a mouth guard can protect smiles and prevent sports-related dental injuries.
Each year, two million teeth get knocked out due out due to sports-related injuries such as a baseball to the mouth. According to WebMD and the American Dental Association, sports injuries are the main source of tooth and mouth injuries in older adolescents and adults. In some cases, these injuries result in permanent damage to the jaw, teeth or surrounding facial bones. Surprisingly, dental injuries are one of the most easily avoidable sports injuries. Yet a recent study commissioned by the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) found that sixty-seven percent of parents stated that their children do not wear a mouth guard during organized sports.
A mouth guard may be one of the least expensive pieces of protection gear available to young athletes, and it can provide a lifetime of savings - especially when you compare the cost of a mouth guard to the cost of losing or damaging a tooth.
If you have athletes on your holiday gift list, make sure they're protected in 2018!
There are several types of mouth guards, and if you're wearing braces you need to wear a mouth guard designed specifically for orthodontic patients. The "Boil and Bite" guards available at most sporting goods stores should not be used while you are in active orthodontic treatment. To pick up a free orthodontic mouth guard or to learn more about which mouth guard is right for you or your child, contact our office.