I have been absorbed by sports in the last two to three weeks – world cup soccer (well done Spain, by the way!), Wimbledon tennis, international rugby and, of course the GAA action at Croke Park. Coincidentally, I fitted a mouthguard for a patient recently. She thanked me when I saw her last as she sustained a blow to her face and was protected by the mouthguard. I thought it would be timely to discuss the use of mouthguards as they are extremely important to wear for anyone engaging in contact sports.
It is estimated that one third of dental injuries in Ireland are sports related. The majority of these are preventable.
- An athelete is 60% more likely to sustain an oro facial injury when not wearing a mouthguard.
- Statistics from 2008 suggest that as many as 22% of men and 11% of women in the 25-34 age bracket sustain a chip or a blow to a tooth.
- A properly fitted mouthguard may reduce the chance of concussion and thus serious head injury.
- The life time costs of repairing fractured/lost teeth may run into several thousands of euros.
Having also read through some GAA discussion forums I have seen that there are several misconceptions about mouthguards that hopefully will be addressed through this blog post.
Basically there are three types of mouthguards that are available:
- Stock, non-customised mouthguards – generally available in several sports shops
- ‘Boil and bite’ mouthguards – again generally available in some sports shops
- Customised laminated mouthguards – Individually tailored mouthguards made by dentist.
Stock, non customised mouthguards come in limited sizes – usually small medium and large. Of all the mouthguards available, they are the cheapest and give the least protection. They are often trimmed by the wearer to make them more comfortable to wear as they are often incorrect in shape. They do not cover enough soft tissue to protect the tissues adequately and as they are a poor fit, they have to be bitten into continuously to keep them in. This hinders proper breathing and communication on the sports field. It becomes difficult concentrating on the game if the player must cocentrate continuously on keeping the mouthguard in.
Stock Mouthguard
‘Boil and bite’ mouthguards have to be warmed to be moulded in the mouth. As they are thermoplastic they can deform quite easily. They seldom fit well or can be shaped up well to cover enough soft tissue to protect the tissues. They seldom cover enough of the back teeth either. They can be bulky and are often trimmed back by the wearer to give a more comfortable fit, further reducing their protective capacity. Additionally, it is almost impossible to get the correct thickness of material over the teeth once it has been moulded. The thickness of the mouthguard over the teeth and outer surface should be 3mm and on the inside it should be 2mm. Often the thickness ends up too thin and they are worn down very easily – thus giving no protection. In particular, there is no shock absorption, so there is an increased chance of concussion.
Custom made mouthguards are made by the dentist after a mould is recorded from the players’ teeth. The dentist can take into account developing teeth, braces that may be worn. any history of concussion necessitating thicker perts on the mouthguard. Space can be provided for developing teeth and the appropriate mouthguard for any particular sport may be made.
Custom made laminated mouthguard
1/Space may be made for players with braces on having orthodontic treatment, 2/ additional thickness can be provided in areas of previous dental trauma, 3/ the mouthguard can be made to fit well in areas where ther are missing teeth, 4/ a guard of apprpriate thicknes to the level of sport played can be provded.
A custom guard covers all the teeth appropriately, does not impinge on muscle attachments whist giving good protection to the soft tissues and is the correct thickness to help prevent concussion. They fulfil the criterion of retention, adaptation, comfort and stability of material. Of all mouthguards, they interfere the least with speach and studies show that they have virtually no effect on breathing. These are the types of guards all dentists recommend as the above properties are not matched by store bought mouthguards.
These mouthguards resist deformation well and should last two seasons where there is minimal growth change in the mouth. Wearing a guard can save a lot of cost on dental treatment and save a lot of time spent at the dentist too:
Injuries that could have been prevented with a mouthguard!
The wearing of mouthguards will be mandatory at the end of the year so all players should get one soon before the beginning of the season!
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Tags: GAA, gumshield, mouth guard, mouthguard
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