Playing Sports, helps in maintaining our overall health and wellbeing. But, with the physical benefits do comes the risk of injury as part of the package. Therefore, the risks to our mouth are too significant when we participate in athletic and sporting activities.
Our face and mouth is one of the most vulnerable areas of our body and more often the least protected one. The first thing every sportsman keep in mind while playing contact sports is to protect themselves. After all, our smile is very important, we should always strive to protect it at any cost.
So, here are the steps for protecting your teeth while Playing Sports:
Use Mouth guard
More often than not, people who are tend to grind their teeth while sleeping use mouth guards. However, mouth guards are also used while playing sports especially contact sports, in order to protect your teeth from the force of impact during contact sports so you won’t lose any teeth. Also, mouth guard prevents lip and tongue injuries which can be caused by accidentally biting down hard on them. Furthermore, mouth guards do protect your teeth from chipping or breaking during sports.
You can get mouth guards from your dentist or directly from the lab. They will take impression of your teeth and then will get you the perfect size mouth guard for you.
Put on a Helmet
Secondly, another way to protect your teeth from hurting while playing sports is to wear helmet. Helmets not only provide protection against brain damage and injuries to your skull, but also they provide protection from injuries to your jaw and mouth. Helmets are designed in a way that they work as shock absorbers in order to prevent the force of impacts from doing any real damage to you. However, 100% protection is not guaranteed, yet they help to lower the risk of serious injuries. All you need to see is that the helmet you wear is sturdy. Don’t use crack or damaged helmets, they are good for nothing.
Wear a Face Cage
There are some sports in which facial cages are worn by the players such as Rugby and hockey. Facial cages provide protection to your face, mouth, and jaw from the force of impact and resultant injuries while playing. Basically, facial cages provide a layer of protection for your teeth and jaw and reduce the risk of serious injuries like chipped teeth, teeth loss, and broken jaws. However, a facial cage does not provide 100% protection from injury, but it’s always better to have protection than no protection at all.
Use Shock Absorbent Equipment
In case of indoor sports, one should always make sure that all the equipment is shock absorbent to prevent injuries. In case of no shock absorbent of your playing area, you should pad the floors, walls, and equipment with rubber or foam or maybe you can buy equipment made with rubber.
If the sport is to be played outdoors, make sure your field is with plenty of grass that’s well cared for or one with deep sand.
To conclude……
Well, these are few methods to protect your teeth while playing any sport. However, none of the above mentioned protection methods provide 100% protection, but it is good to have some protection just to get reduced risk.
Also, do visit your dentist to discuss the ways to protect your teeth and jaw while playing your sport. And make sure that you get your regular dental check-ups so that if any issue will be detected it can fixed before it become too severe or expensive.