Facts About Mouth Guards
Posted by fightguard on Jul 7, 2011 in Articles, Mouth Guards | 0 comments
- Dental injuries are the most common type of orofacial injury sustained during participation in sports; the majority of these dental injuries are preventable.
- An athlete is 60 times more likely to sustain damage to the teeth when not wearing a protective mouth guard.
- The cost of a fractured tooth is many times greater than the cost of a dentist diagnosed and designed professionally made mouth guard.
- Every athlete involved in contact sport has about a 10% chance per season of an orofacial injury, or a 33-56% chance during an athletic career.
- Repeated concussions appear to impart cumulative damage, resulting in increased severity and duration with each incident. Therefore it is imperative to diagnose and deliver proper custom made mouthguards to athletes after an episode of concussion.
- In football, the chance of having a second concussion is four times greater than the chance of sustaining a first concussion.
- Catastrophic brain swelling may occur following a second minor head injury in individuals who are still symptomatic from a prior concussion.
- A properly fitted mouthguard reduces the chances of sustaining a concussion from a blow to the jaw.
- Mouth guards should be worn at all times during competition; in practice as well as in games.
- The American Dental Association recommends wearing custom mouthguards for the following sports: acrobats, basketball, boxing, field Hockey, football, gymnastics, handball, ice hockey, lacrosse, martial arts, racquetball, roller hockey, rugby, shot putting, skateboarding, skiing, skydiving, soccer, squash, surfing, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, wrestling.
