Learn How to Protect Your Child's Teeth During Sports This Summer!

Protect Everyone’s Teeth and Mouth This Summer!

Proper safety gear is important during any summer sports or activities. It’s easy to get invested in a game or push towards that final goal and have an accident. A wide variety of safety equipment is made to help prevent any permanent bodily damage, and there are quite a few options to increase dental safety and prevent tooth trauma for you and your family. Mouthguards, in particular, provide excellent protection from injuries to your teeth, but they are not the only piece of equipment that can help prevent oral damage during physical activities.

Protect Your Teeth – Why Encouraging Oral Defense Is Important

Oral safety can often be neglected in light of other equipment like padding and braces, leading to greater chances of dental injuries. Also, some sports organizations don’t require mouthguards, leading some players to avoid using them. Dental injuries can lead to permanent damage and extensive procedures that could have been prevented with specialized equipment. Encouraging oral and facial guards leads to a healthy mouth and also prevents the need for future procedures and fixes for you and your family’s teeth.

A 2009 survey commissioned by the American Association of Orthodontists discovered that 84% percent of children playing organized sports did not use mouthguards because they were not required equipment. In 2012, the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation predicted that during youth sports greater than three million teeth would be lost during play and that refraining from using a mouthguard raised the danger of tooth damage by 60 times. In light of these statistics, encouraging oral protection is crucial.

3 Ways To Increase Dental Safety

While using a mouthguard is important, other protection habits help as well. Using a full assortment of equipment not only increases your chances of avoiding tooth trauma but also helps protect your head and facial area. Choosing the right sport mouthguard is also very valuable. Here are three tips for summer sports dental safety:

• Use the best type of mouthguard for your needs. Check with your dentist or sports therapy representative on the best sport mouthguard option based on the types of sports and activities you’ll be doing.
• Wear a helmet. A helmet protects your head from impacts and jarring, which lowers your chances of damaging your teeth and mouth.
• Put on a face shield. A face shield gives your face and your mouth an extra line of defense from flying objects like racquetballs and hockey pucks.

Equipping yourself properly is important, but regular checkups and consultation help maintain a healthy mouth and a bright smile that’s worth protecting. The doctors and professors at Penn Dental Family Practice can guide you on the best steps towards greater dental safety during this summer and throughout the year. Come in to one of the two locations in the Philadelphia area for a consultation for the best service to suit your needs.