Reasons Mouth Guards Should Be Mandatory For sport Athletes

Reasons Mouth Guards Should Be Mandatory For sport Athletes

No matter what sport you play, At Greenbelt Oral and Facial Surgery | Greenbelt MD, 

we recommend wearing a mouthguard. There are numerous reasons for this and many ways that they can help protect your teeth.

Here are six of the most important reasons to always wear mouth guards when playing sports.

1. Protect against displacing teeth.

Imagine being hit in the mouth by a baseball. There’s no question it could break your tooth but it could also displace it. That is, it could loosen it to the point that it moves easily and requires dental treatment. Mouthguards can help to distribute force over all of your teeth, which keeps a single tooth – or several – from bearing the brunt of a blow.

2. Protect against injury to the soft tissues.

While it’s true that teeth can get damaged when playing sports, it’s also true that the teeth can actually damage the soft tissue of the mouth. For example, a basketball player who gets hit in the face with a ball could inadvertently bite into their lip. This can require stitches and even plastic surgery to repair but it can be avoided by simply wearing a mouth guard – which can also help protect the cheeks and tongue.

3. Prevent jaw fractures

Anyone who sustains a blow to the head is likely to have their teeth come into contact with one another. When this happens, there isn’t much room for flexibility. However, if a mouth guard is worn, it acts as padding and can actually prevent the jaw from fracturing. Jaw fractures are serious business and can lead to surgery, so doing something simple like wearing a guard is well worth it.

4. Guards From fracturing teeth

One of the most important things that mouthguards can do is to prevent your teeth from breaking. If you do experience a tooth fracture, it’s likely that you can save it. If it’s fractured on the crown, where you can see it, then we can generally add white filling material to replace the fractured part. If it fractures and the dental pulp is showing, then a root canal will likely be required.

The worst-case scenario is one in which the root of the tooth fractures. At Greenbelt Oral and Facial Surgery | Greenbelt MD we will do everything we can, but it’s possible in these situations that the tooth can’t be saved.

5. Mouthguards can keep you from knocking out your teeth.

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who wants to get their teeth knocked out, yet many people don’t wear a mouth guard for their teeth when playing sports. Adults who have an adult tooth knocked out may be able to save it. Bring it to Greenbelt Oral and Facial Surgery | Greenbelt MD and let us take a look. If a child gets a baby tooth knocked out, then a spacer may be required until the adult tooth grows in.

6. Mouthguards may help prevent concussions.

While there is disagreement on this issue, some say that since mouth guards add padding between the upper and lower rows of teeth, that padding could lessen the force of the jaw as it pushes on the skull near the brain. As a result, the chance of concussion could be lessened.

How Can Dental Implants Help My Smile?

Dental implants are a permanent solution for treating your tooth loss. In fact, they are actually the next best thing to real teeth. While dentures and dental bridges aren't designed to last your whole life, implants potentially could.
These small metal posts or screws are surgically placed into the jawbone where, over time, the bone will heal around the implant making it a permanent structure within the jawbone. This fusion ensures that the implant won't go anywhere and it certainly won't move or shift around like full dentures often can.

Dental implants can replace your teeth and restore your Dental Implants smile to what it once was. But how do these revolutionary, state-of-the-art dental restorations work? How can they benefit you? Find out the answers to these questions and more with Dr.Elyassi at Cosmetic & Family Dentistry in Potomac, MD.


They preserve the health of your jawbone
Tooth loss also leads to jawbone loss. By placing the implant into the jawbone it takes over the role of your missing tooth' s roots and also offers stimulation that the jawbone needs to remain healthy. The sooner you get implants from our Greenbelt dentist the less bone loss you' ll experience.


Enjoy a durable, long-term tooth replacement
With the proper care, your new tooth could last you the rest of your life. Only implants naturally meld together with your bone and tissue, meaning that you won't find another tooth replacement that' s as realistic and resilient as implants.


Dental Implants Greenbelt, MD
Dental implants require a two-phase process and several dental appointments. Those undergoing this procedure should have realistic expectations for their results and be committed to completing the process.

Don' t lose the battle against tooth loss. Your smile can be transformed thanks to a little help from our dental implants. Call Dr. Elyassi at Greenbelt Oral and Facial Surgery in Greenbelt, MD today.

What to Expect During a Dental Implants Procedure

Placing a dental implant is a process that is different for each patient. The healing process and the steps required all depend on what’s going on in your mouth. The only way to know exactly what to expect is to consult with us at our office, but we’d be happy to give you an overview here:

Can I go back to work right away?
You may have read that it can take months to completely heal from a dental implant procedure. This is true, but a little misleading. Many patients are able to return to work the next day, but the mouth takes time to truly be ‘good as new’. It all depends on your specific procedure. We recommend that you plan to rest for a day. Keep in mind that your body will heal faster if you avoid exhausting yourself. If you take good care of yourself, you should be back to work very quickly.

How can I care for myself while I heal?
After the surgery, you will need to go easy on your mouth. Just like after any oral surgery, we recommend eating only soft foods for at least two weeks. You may be given antibiotics and instructions to rinse with salt water. Keeping your mouth clean is important to prevent infection. Avoid smoking.

About Bone Grafting
It may be the case that your bone is not strong enough to support the implant. In this case, bone grafting may be necessary. During this routine procedure, we take bone from a stronger part of your jaw or another part of your body, implant it into the jaw and are thus able to encourage your body to begin growing strong, new bone in its place. If you only need a small amount of bone, it may be possible to do the procedure during the same appointment as your implant surgery. However, it may be the case that you need to wait for bone growth to occur prior to us placing the implant. Every case is different.

Let us properly inform you on what you personally can expect! If you have any questions call our Greenbelt MD office at 301-982-4555.