The Ultimate Guide to Mouth Guards

The Ultimate Guide to Mouth Guards

Aug 01, 2023

Mouthguards serve multiple purposes. The appliances can also help treat teeth grinding and sleep apnea conditions. Protecting your mouth from sports-related injuries is also the responsibility of mouthguards. You can purchase store brought or customized mouthguards from your dentist.

What Are Mouthguards?

Mouth guards in Houston, TX, are dental appliances that help cover your teeth. Dentists suggest wearing mouthguards for various reasons for children and adults because they offer benefits.

Generally, mouthguards fit over the upper teeth, but in some cases, dentists recommend a mouthguard for your lower teeth if required.

The Functionality of a Mouthguard

Various reasons can cause a dentist to recommend mouthguards. For example, you might need this dental appliance if you are affected by teeth grinding and clenching, participate in contact sports like football, basketball, hockey, soccer, or boxing, have obstructive sleep apnea or TMJ disorders, or partake in activities like gymnastics, biking, ice-skating where the risk of falling is high.

Role of mouth guards in Preventing Oral Injuries

Mouth guards for sporting activities protect your teeth from sports-related injuries. If you participate in boxing, wrestling, basketball, hockey, soccer, or football, wearing a mouth guard significantly reduces your risk of chipped or knocked-out teeth.

Selecting the Appropriate Mouth Guard for Your Teeth

When selecting the appropriate mouth guard for your teeth, it helps if you try to ascertain why you need the appliance. Whether you need the mouthguard for medical conditions like bruxism, sleep apnea, or sporting activities will help determine the appropriate mouthguard for your teeth. For example, if you are cost-conscious and considering a mouthguard for sporting activities, you may consider purchasing store brought appliances because they are low-priced.

Store-bought mouthguards are available as a stock which is generic and the boil and bite variety. Unfortunately, both versions are ineffective in protecting teeth because they are generic.

If you think your teeth are more precious than a mouthguard, you must consider getting the appliance customized by the dentist in Houston. The customized mouthguards are explicitly designed for your teeth, so they offer more comfort than store-bought appliances. In addition, custom-created mouthguards also provide adequate protection against bruxism and sports-related injuries. The Houston dentist generally recommends a customized oral appliance as an alternative to the CPAP device for people with sleep apnea.

Custom-created mouthguards by dentists are more expensive but last longer while providing better protection than store brought appliances.

How to Purchase a Custom-Created Mouthguard?

You can purchase custom-created mouthguards in Houston by visiting the dentist to provide impressions of your teeth to help them customize your dental appliance. The dentist sends the images to a dental laboratory for technicians to fabricate a mouthguard fitting the anatomy of your teeth. You must wait approximately two weeks before receiving the customized appliance from the dentist.

How Frequently Should You Wear the Appliance?

The frequency of wear depends on why you need the appliance. If the mouthguard is for sports-related activities, you must wear the device when playing or practicing. If the mouthguard is to protect your teeth from damage due to teeth grinding and clenching or sleep apnea, the device must be worn when sleeping. The dentist customizing the mouthguard can help you with the details of how often you must wear the device in your mouth after considering your unique needs.

Benefits of Wearing Mouthguards

Wearing mouthguards when participating in contact sports can help prevent chipped and knocked-out teeth besides damage to the dental pulp. In addition, you receive protection against soft tissue injuries in your gums, lips, and inner cheeks.

If wearing mouthguards when sleeping for conditions like bruxism or sleep apnea, the appliances reduce your risks of teeth wear and tear from clenching and grinding, snoring, jaw discomfort, headaches, facial pain, and symptoms of the temporomandibular joint disorder. It also helps alleviate the complications related to sleep apnea, such as hypertension and daytime fatigue.

Caring for Your Mouthguards

Mouthguards are vulnerable to picking up bacteria from your mouth. Therefore you must clean your teeth before wearing the mouthguard. When caring for your customized dental appliance, you must ensure you do not expose the device to extreme heat because it can cause the appliance to warp and change shape. You must rinse the mouthguard in cool water using a brush and soap to clean it after every use. You must also store the mouthguard in the storage case to ensure it stays safe with you for its lifespan.

OASIS Modern Dentistry provides custom-created mouthguards for sporting and medical problems. If you or your child needs an oral device to protect teeth from sporting or medical issues, kindly arrange a meeting with them to have a dental appliance custom created for your teeth.

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