For our Surrey patients with braces, there are few pieces of equipment more important than a sports mouth guard.
As you likely know if you have braces, orthodontic treatment requires more than a few lifestyle changes!
You can't eat quite as wide a variety of food, for instance and you probably spend a lot more time carefully brushing and flossing your teeth than you used to!
Another area where you’ll have to take more care than usual now that you have braces is athletics.
A sports mouth guard is absolutely essential for protecting your orthodontic appliances, and the inside of your mouth, too, while playing sports.
Even if you don't have braces, a mouth guard is always a good idea if you play contact sports. Mouthguards can help protect the teeth, cheeks, jaw, and face from serious injury.
But for a variety of reasons, you have to be even more careful when you have braces. First of all, it can be quite costly to repair damaged orthodontic appliances. And, damage to your orthodontic appliances and braces can disrupt your orthodontic treatment progress, resulting in setbacks.
In addition, your teeth will loosen as they shift and change position during orthodontic treatment, and that makes them more easily damaged or even knocked out than they normally would be.
Finally, damaged orthodontic appliances can cause serious injuries and lacerations to the soft tissues in your mouth, including your teeth and gums.
What type of mouth guard should I get?
A custom-made mouth guard is what we would likely recommend. Although they do cost more than stock mouth guards, a custom-made mouth guard is moulded to specially fit just your mouth, and provide the protection you want.