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Sports mouth guards to protect your beautiful smile

  • Published
  • By Capt. Wah-Yung Tsang
  • 51st Dental Squadron
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Mouth guards help prevent injury to the teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue. Dental injuries in sports are primarily due to tooth-to-tooth contact. An accidental chin bump with an elbow is not what directly causes most dental injuries. It's the collision of the lower teeth with the upper teeth after the bump that causes the damage. A mouth guard worn on the upper or lower teeth cushions the blow to protect both the upper and lower teeth. Even athletes who use helmets or face masks should wear mouth guards because they also protect against head and neck injuries by cushioning blows that could otherwise cause concussions or jaw fractures.

Prevention of oral injuries

· More than 200,000 injuries to the jaw and mouth occur each year due to sports injuries, accidents, or casual recreation.

· The cost of repairing your teeth and follow-up dental treatment can cost thousands of dollars and many hours in the dental office.

· Athletes are 60 times more likely to suffer damage to the mouth when not wearing a mouth guard.

How to take care of your mouth guard:

· Wash your mouth guard with soap and warm water and rinse thoroughly or soak it in mouthwash before storing. Never brush it with toothpaste.

· Thoroughly dry the mouthguard before placing it in a plastic storage container. It is important not to bend the mouthguard during storage since it may distort.

· Mouth guards can wear out. Check its condition from time to time to see if it needs replacement. Tears and perforations can irritate the teeth and mouth. Worn out mouth guards loses their effectiveness in protecting against dental, jaw, and concussion injuries.

· No matter what age you are, mouthguards are cost effective, easily obtained, and go a long way in preventing serious injury to the head and mouth. For this reason, no person engaged in any contact sport should be without one.

At Osan Air Base, mouthguards are required in all contact intramural sports. For information regarding mouth guards, contact the dental clinic at 784-2108 or simply schedule an appointment for a custom mouth guard. Mouth guards are also available at the Osan Air Base fitness center front desk.