For growing children, playing outside the house can be enjoyable and fun, but stressful and worrying for parents. That is why most parents let their children wear helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, and even goggles just to make sure that they are safe from accidents and mishaps. But are mouthguards for kids also important? For instance, if Mobile Mouthguards advise Junior sports teams playing basketball, baseball, or soccer to wear mouthguards, is it really necessary?
Mouthguards for kids: What is it for?
If safety gears protect you from trauma or pressure from blows or injuries sustained during a gameplay or sports activity, then mouthguards for kids do the same thing. There is no denying that accidents affecting the head are a typical injury in every contact sport. As a matter of fact, blows to the head more often than not affects the mouth, so your kids can really have the tendency to lose their teeth if they do not wear mouthguards.
Mouthguards act as a cushion to your child’s teeth so as to protect them from outside pressure from an accidental punch or blow to the head. Sometimes, kids also grind their teeth during a game, so mouthguards also shield your teeth from fine cracks and breaks.
Benefits of using mouthguards for kids
Protects the teeth. This is, of course, a no-brainer. Because they shield the teeth, pressure can be limited, reduced, and absorbed by the mouthguard so as not to affect the stability of the teeth.
Protects the tongue, lips, and inside of cheeks. The mouthguard redistributes or spreads the force that the head can receive during an injury, and since the teeth are covered, accidental bites inside the cheeks or tongue can also be prevented.
Protects orthodontic or restorative appliances. If your child has braces, mouthguards can act as a shield from an impact. It can also be helpful when your child has temporary crowns in cases where they lost baby teeth ahead of time.
Types of mouthguards for kids
Custom-fitted mouthguards. These are the most recommended type of mouthguard, not just for kids but for adults as well. These are prepared using your dentist’s measurements of your teeth and bite. It is personalized and is specially prepared to make sure that they fit your dental cavity perfectly. This mouthguard may be the most expensive type, but the benefits outweigh the cost.
Stock or pre-formed mouthguards. These are the types that you may see in sporting goods and supermarkets of pharmacies that are ready-to-wear. They are essentially made to somehow shield the teeth from blunt trauma and pressure, although they are poorly-fitted. This makes the protection it guarantees lower than what you can get from the custom-fitted ones.
Boil-and-bite mouthguards. Another generic mouthguard that you can normally see in supermarkets and sporting goods stores, this type needs to be submerged in water before fitting them to your teeth so that it molds and takes the shape of your teeth and bite. They may not be as good as the custom-fitted kind, but they are way better than the stock, ready-to-0wear mouthguards.
