Do you have an athlete in the family? If so, you may worry about accidental injuries, especially from sports that have a high incidence of facial injuries, such as football and hockey. It’s not a bad time to give some thought to having a custom mouth guard made by Alliance Family Dental in Fayetteville, NC to protect the mouth and teeth of your favorite athlete from injury. While the vast majority (90%) of all mouth guards worn by athletes in the US are the less protective, inferior “stock” type (which offer very little customization for the wearer) or the “boil and bite” type (which are somewhat more customizable than the stock type), the one-size-fits-many nature of these types of mouth guards can’t provide the optimum wear, protection, and comfort that one gets with a custom fitted mouth guard.

Mouth guards were invented to protect the mouth and teeth from injury during contact sports. The first use of them was probably in boxing in the 1890s, when a dentist began using the rubbery substance known as gutta-percha in strips on boxers’ teeth. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that use of mouth guards in boxing matches was fully accepted. By the 1940s, a Los Angeles dentist created the first transparent molded acrylic resin mouth guards which he called an “acrylic splint”. These new acrylic mouth guards were a step forward in technology from the bulky rubber things worn by boxers, and athletes in many sports began to use them. The shape and size of the molded acrylic pieces, which fit over the top or bottom sets of teeth, were much more comfortable and made it much easier to talk normally. Mouth guard technology has progressed over the years and you now have the chance to avail yourself in Fayetteville, NC of the latest in athletic mouth guard protection.

Nowadays, the ADA suggests mouth guards for 29 different sports, such as soccer, martial arts, and football. The NCAA currently requires mouth guards for ice hockey, field hockey, and lacrosse. Some municipalities and school systems require mouth guards for participation in sports, too. A custom fitted mouth guard can help prevent lost or broken teeth, damage to the soft tissues of the mouth, and may even help prevent concussion in certain jaw injury situations. Nothing can prevent all injuries, of course, but many dental injuries sustained by athletes are exacerbated by non-compliance with mouth guard rules or by using an ill-fitting, insubstantial or inappropriate mouth guard. For the protection your Fayetteville, NC athlete’s smile deserves, call Alliance Family Dental and find out about custom mouth guards before it’s too late!