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Playing Sports with Braces? Wear a Mouthguard!

Now that spring is here, many of our patients are preparing to play spring sports like baseball, softball, and lacrosse. This is a great time for us to remind those of you wearing braces that it’s very important to wear protective mouthguards when you’re playing contact sports or whenever you’re taking part in any activity that can lead to a mouth injury.

April is National Facial Protection Month in the United States. This is when dentists and other healthcare providers team up to raise public awareness about facial and mouth injuries and to remind athletes, coaches, parents and caregivers of the importance of wearing protective mouthguards to safeguard the mouth and teeth against injuries. Because mouthguards have been proven to significantly lower the risk of oral injuries, mouthguards should be worn by all athletes playing sports.

The Best Mouthguard To Use

There are special mouthguards available both online and off which are made specifically for people wearing braces. These orthodontic mouthguards fit right over your braces to provide your appliances, mouth and teeth with protection against blows or strikes to the face. Some good brands to look for are ShockDoctor and UnderArmour orthodontic mouthguards. Our West Seattle orthodontist, Dr. Jorge Peralta, is more than happy to help you find the right mouthguard to use, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need some assistance.

We do not recommend using the ready-to-wear and “boil & bite” mouthguards found at pharmacies and sporting goods stores as these mouthguards do not fit over braces well nor do they provide ample protection against injuries.

The last thing you want to happen is to have to make an emergency appointment with our West Seattle orthodontist because your braces need to be repaired or replaced due to an injury you sustained while playing sports without a mouthguard. Mouthguards are inexpensive and essential pieces of sporting gear that should be worn while both on the practice field and during regulation play.