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Mouthguards - Learn Everything You Need To Know

Every year, more than 200,000 people are treated by dentists and oral surgeons for sports-related injuries. Many of these injuries could be avoided if athletes and sports enthusiasts used protective equipment.

The mouth guard, a small, flexible plastic device, can dramatically protect athletes from injuries including concussions, jaw fractures, and neck and head trauma. Anyone participating in sports and especially contact sports such as football, hockey, soccer, and wrestling, should wear protective mouth guards for safety. It is especially important to wear a mouth guard if a person has braces. In addition, if a child's teeth protrude, it is very important that he or she wears one.

Different Types of Mouth Guards Available

Different types of mouth guards from off-the-shelf to custom-fitted types provide various advantages and degrees of protection . When considering options, evaluate the mouth guard's degree of comfort; the wearer's ability to speak and breathe; durability; and protection for the teeth and mouth.

• The stock or off-the-shelf mouth guard is the least expensive type and offers the least protection. Adjustment is limited and may interfere with speech and breathing. The jaw holds the mouth guard in place so the jaw must be closed at all times to work properly -- not convenient or practical in many situations.
• The "boil-and-bite" mouth guard found in athletic stores also is inexpensive. The mouth guard is dropped into hot water, then placed into the mouth; the synthetic material forms an impression around the teeth providing a better fit. Make certain that the mouth guard is not too big.
• Custom-made mouth guards are more expensive, but after all of the permanent teeth have erupted, they do offer the best protection against injury. They're also more comfortable to wear. These are made by the dentist and tailored to fit your mouth.

Mouth guard Care

• Wash with soap and warm water and soak the mouth guard in mouthwash before storage. Store in a well-ventilated plastic storage case when not using. Do not bend.
• Some mouth guards can be cleaned with an effervescent cleaner such as Efferdent -- refer to individual instructions first.
• Avoid exposing your mouth guard to heat, including leaving it in direct sunlight or in a hot car, which can permanently affect its shape and fit.
• Keep it to yourself! Don't handle other people's mouth guards or let others use yours.

Your dentist wants you to avoid any risk of facial, head, neck, and dental injuries that can often be prevented with a protective mouth guard. For all these reasons, the dental profession encourages the use of high-quality mouth guards. Mouth guards are changing the face of sports and protecting hundreds of thousands of people in the process.

By Brian J. Gray, DDS, MAGD, FICO

Dental Waterlines

Have you heard about biofilm? Our dental office monitors it daily. Possibly you'll catch something on TV about biofilm as some sort of newly discovered health threat. It's neither, really. Here are the facts:

Most of our dental equipment is connected to long, flexible tubes that deliver water to your mouth. We call these tubes dental waterlines. Every day, fresh water rushes through them. But overnight or over the weekend, water trapped in these long tubes has the potential of being colonized by a thin layer of microorganisms.

Those microorganisms are biofilm. It's just as important we keep our waterlines free of biofilm as it is you keep your teeth free of plaque through regular brushing.

We've known about biofilm for years. Every morning, all our waterlines are cleared before the first patient arrives. Our dental chairs are equipped with check valves that make sure waterline delivery goes only one way-into the mouth and down the drain.

All this to combat a health hazard that is so far only theoretical-we have no evidence of illness related to water from a dental waterline. Even if it existed, the marginally higher bacteria counts wouldn't necessarily pose a hazard to healthy patients. Bacteria is everywhere-in drinking water, the air we breathe. Getting rid of it is the job of our immune systems.

News organizations love to discover what they believe to be health threats, because it keeps viewers tuned in. But biofilm (if it exists at all) is something we've known about and protected patients against for years.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.