Choosing a high quality mouth guard for your child's sporting activities
Posted on: 28 August 2017
It is extremely important for children who are playing sports to have a well fitting and high quality mouth guard. Not only does this protect your child's teeth from impact, but it also ensure that they are protected from impact to the gums and soft tissues in the face.
Here are some tips to make sure that the mouth guard will do the best job in protecting your child's mouth.
Well fitting
It´s important to have a mouth guard that exactly fits your child's mouth and is not loose. Over the counter mouth guards don't tend to offer a precise fit as they come in a general size range such as small, medium or large. They also don't fit around the child's teeth exactly and can move a little, especially in an impact situation. As a child's mouth grows and they lose and gain teeth, it is important to get your child's mouth guard readjusted so that it continues to fit snugly around their teeth. A loose mouth guard can become a choke hazard if it becomes loose and the child accidentally gets it lodged in the mouth or throat.
Tough but flexible material
It is important that the material is soft enough that it absorbs impact if the child falls or is hit, but it also needs to be tough enough to not be easily bit through. Some children can grit their teeth very firmly as they concentrate during sports. A particularly soft mouth guard can be easy to bite through during these times and this can make it more likely that the teeth get damaged or that a piece becomes loose and forms a choke hazard. Many of the softer moulding options, such as boil and bites, that are available over the counter can be a little soft for a hardy player.
Easy to clean
Finally, it's also important to find a mouth guard that is easy to clean, as mouth guards can become bacteria ridden if they are not regularly cleaned. This can become smelly and unappealing for the child to clean and if left long enough can contribute to tooth decay. Higher quality dental grade mouth guards are easy to clean and are made of material which is less likely to accumulate plaque and bacteria.
A dentist can help choose and fit a great mouth guard for your child to use during sporting activities of all sorts.
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