Benefits of Using a Mouthguard
A mouth guard is a wearable dental accessory that is designed to protect your teeth and mouth in two distinct situations: during sleep and while playing sports. Without a mouth guard, you run the risk of damaging your teeth, leading to costly dentist visits, dental implants and even serious pain.
Night Guards
Night guards are used by patients who grind their teeth in their sleep, which is a very common affliction. It is often not until a dentist informs you of the resulting damage that you become aware of your bad habit. Grinding that goes unchecked for a long period of time can cause significant damage, wearing down your teeth and dental work or even causing eventual tooth breakage.
Teeth grinding also puts more pressure on the TMJ (temporomandibular joint), which leads to headaches and jaw clicking. There is no way to completely break the habit of grinding your teeth, since it happens while you are asleep. However, night guards form a protective barrier between your teeth, stopping future damage.
Athletic Guards
Damaged teeth are one of the most common (and most expensive) sports injuries, particularly in high-contact sports like football, hockey and soccer. Athletic mouth guards shield the wearer from these injuries, offering two different levels of protection.
First, the guard functions as a barrier between the upper and lower teeth, preventing them from crashing together in the event of an impact. Second, the guard acts as armor for the teeth, protecting from flying objects like balls, bats, pucks or sticks. Athletic guards are just as important as helmets and pads, so they should be an integral part of any athlete’s equipment bag.
Custom-Made Mouth Guards
Custom mouth guards are the most functional type of mouthguard. Stock mouth guards can be purchased at any sporting goods store and are intended to work directly out of the box. Boil-and-bite mouth guards require the user to boil them first to soften the plastic and then to insert in the jaw and bite down, creating a somewhat tailored fit.
For a custom guard, our team at All Smiles Dental will start by making impressions of your teeth. These impressions will be sent to a specialized lab where highly trained technicians construct the mouth guard based off your impression. The custom-made option provides you with the best results and a significantly more comfortable fit. Another positive of custom-made mouthguards is that because they are far more comfortable due to the perfect fit, the patient is more likely to wear them faithfully.
Let All Smiles Dental Help You Find the Right Mouthguard
All Smiles Dental is one of the best dental offices in NYC, and we have the experience and knowledge to provide you with the right mouthguard for your situation. As a seasoned provider of mouthguards in NYC, we have matched countless patients with their perfect mouth guard. Our financing options also make it affordable to prioritize your dental health. Contact our office today or schedule your consultation for more information.
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