Protect Your Smile With a Mouth Guard | Bellefontaine Family Dental

Do you or your child participate in sports? Dr. Sam Cigno may recommend a sports mouthguard in St. Louis, Missouri, especially if you or your child participates in contact sports. A sports mouthguard is a piece of plastic that is molded to fit around your upper teeth. When worn over the teeth, sports mouth guards help protect you from injury to the mouth.

Sports Injuries

When an individual participates in sports, they are at risk for dental injury. Potential injuries to the mouth include:

Cuts to the lip or cheek
Chipped, broken, or cracked teeth
Damage to a tooth root
Broken jaw
Damaged restorations

Contact sports usually require the use of mouth guards. However, a mouth guard would be beneficial to most athletes.

Mouth Guard Protection

If you wear a mouthguard when you participate in sports, the mouth guard can absorb the force of impact to the mouth and the surrounding areas before it gets to the teeth. They offer protection to the teeth, gums, mouth, and jaw. The American Dental Association states that when a person receives a blow to the face or when he or she falls onto a hard surface, a mouthguard can redistribute the force of the impact, thus reducing the chance of significant injury.

We welcome you to contact Bellefontaine Family Dental at 314-741-5133 today to learn more about mouthguards and to schedule a visit with our dentist.